Keep your demon on a leash
by A Liar called Jago
Summary: Dante is glad to be back from the Underworld. And his brother has come back with him. Voluntarily. Could this get any better? Yes. With an improvised "Welcome-back" party for himself. But his friends seem to be in a bad mood and Vergil suddenly starts to act weird. Honestly, having fun around those people was hard work.
1. Chapter 1

He couldn't believe his eyes.  
Vergil was back.  
Really back.  
Not as Urizen or V, no,... as his brother Vergil.  
They had fought together in the Underworld against numerous demons like a well oiled machine. As if they had always been a team.  
Of course they had fought each other in between the demon attacks, (because...well...there was nothing else to do down there and talking was... not exactly their thing),but it had felt like friendly sparring and not like Vergil had been intent on killing him. He seemed to have taken Nero's words to heart. And Dante...well...he knew that deep down, he never had had the desire to kill his brother, not intentionally anyways, not even when facing Urizen. Stopping him, yes, but killing him, no. He was his brother after all, misguided and power hungry, but still... And so they had fought each other and the demons for weeks until Vergil had casually mentioned (after Dante had sort of dropped that he was bored of the whole fighting demons thing) that there was a way out of the Underworld.  
Only then had it occurred to Dante that, yes, of course, Vergil had left this place once before, without the Yamato, so obviously he knew how to.  
Vergil had asked him, if he really wanted to go back to the human world, because this way of his was, and to quote him: "a bit unpleasant" but Dante would've done anything to go back to "Devil may cry".  
He had been bone-tired.  
Would've never admitted it, of course, but it had been the truth and he might have missed Lady and Trish a bit, maybe the kid as well.  
So he had told Vergil that he could handle 'unpleasant'. But he should've guessed that if Vergil used a word like unpleasant it actually meant freaking disturbing and harrowing.  
When they had finally reached the human world, Dante knew immediately that suppressing those horrendous memories was the only way to be able to go on in life.  
Yep, he had promised himself there and then to never ever talk or even think about this whole ordeal.

Ha!  
And here he was...thinking about it.  
Damn it!  
Who knew that actively suppressing shit was this hard?

Now back at "Devil may cry", Dante stood next to the desk, phone in hand and about to call Nero when he was looking at his brother, who was sitting on the couch, reading.  
He was here.  
He was really here.  
Vergil.  
His twin brother.  
He didn't stay in the Underworld.  
When Dante had asked him to come back with him to the human world, he had said yes.  
It was hard to believe but here they were.

Come to think of it...this had been the second time Vergil had taken the 'unpleasant' way back to the human world, right?  
Sooo...twice.  
He had done this TWICE?!  
For the love of...! Dante gagged.

"Are you alright?", Vergil asked, his voice devoid of any real concern.  
"Yeah, sure", he said, looked down at the phone and dialled Nero's number.  
"Twice", he mumbled and shook his head in disbelieve.  
"What was that?", he heard Vergil ask but thankfully Nero picked up the phone quite quickly and thus giving Dante the perfect excuse to ignore his brother's question.  
He wanted to tell the kid a.s.a.p. that they were back.

* * *

Nero had been thrilled to hear that they had made it back from the Underworld and immediately paid them a visit, together with Kyrie and Nico of course.  
As luck would have it, Lady and Trish had returned from a job and were now at "Devil may cry" as well.  
So Dante had seized the opportunity and had ordered pizza for all of them.  
Why not have a little welcome-back party, right?

Sure, the mood could be better.  
Lady and Trish were glaring at Vergil with rage and hate.  
Which was understandable, really.  
Urizen did turn them into his puppets and used them to fight for him.  
There is no denying it.  
They had every right to be angry at Vergil.  
And Nero...ah yes, he was torn between ripping his father's arm off (see how he likes that!) or firing questions at him.  
It didn't look like he was able to decide anytime soon though.  
So, yeah, bad atmosphere.  
And Vergil glaring back at everyone in defiance wasn't helping at all.

Dante sighed inwardly.  
This party sucked.

"Hey, what's with the sour mood? Aren't you guys glad I'm back?"  
Ah, this did the trick.  
They were now looking at him instead of Vergil.

"You gotta tell me what I missed while I was on vacation in demon-land. But first, Nico, could you try and get the old jukebox working while I get some drinks form the kitchen?"

"Sure thing."  
Nico replied with a grin and pretty soon the room was filled with nice music instead of awkward silence.

"There's pizza on the desk. Help yourselves."  
Dante grinned and asked Kyrie if she could lend him a hand with the drinks.  
When they had reached the kitchen, Dante immediately stopped smiling, got closer to Kyrie and whispered: "Now listen, could you please help me with my brother?"

Kyrie frowned and asked him in a hushed tone: "Help? How?"

"Lady,Trish and Nero are really pissed off. And I get it. Vergil did some pretty messed up shit to them. But he wasn't himself and...Well...just help me to keep an eye on those hot-heads, in case one of them decides to attack Vergil, yeah?"

"Okay, but your brother seems to be quite capable of defending himself in a fight?"

"Oh, I am not worried about Vergil."

"Ah, I see", Kyrie nodded and both returned to the office with various bottles in their hands.

There was beer, wine, ice tea and water.  
Not much, but it could've been worse.  
He was lucky that there had been anything at all in the fridge, in a working fridge even.  
He made a mental note to thank the ladies for that.

"Now, who wants...?" Dante looked up from the bottles in his hands and got stopped in his tracks when he saw that Vergil was gripping Lady's throat with one hand and holding the Yamato in the other, ready to strike.

"Oh, come on! We were only gone for two minutes!" Dante exclaimed exasperated.

He put the bottles down on his desk and walked over to the two brawlers.

Seriously?!  
He leaves the room for a few minutes and shit escalates.  
Maybe this party wasn't meant to be.  
He sighed again, but this time out loud and said: "Alright Vergil. Let her go."

There was no reaction.  
His brother was still glaring at Lady as if he hadn't heard him.

"Okay, Lady, what did you say to him?"

Lady grinned and croaked: "I just told him what a great father he is."

Oh, great!  
Dante rolled his eyes.  
He put a hand on Vergil's outstretched arm and said: "Let go of her, Vergil. No killing in my office...except for demons of course, but Lady is human and my friend. So..."

A low frustrated growl escaped Vergil's throat as he let go of Lady and sheathed the Yamato.  
He turned around and stormed off into the kitchen.

Dante blinked in confusion.  
That went unexpectedly well.  
His brother wasn't usually one to give in so easily.  
But he wasn't complaining.  
Nope, not even a little.

"Where was I? Oh, yes. Drinks and Pizza."  
He got himself a beer and a slice of pizza and sat down on the couch.

"So? What's new? How have you guys been?"

The tension dissolved fast and soon Lady, Trish and Nero were telling him about the clean-up jobs they had taken on, after the Qliphoth had fallen.  
Since most of the demons weren't able to find a way back to the Underworld after Vergil had sealed the portal, the three of them had been quite busy.  
And Nico insisted that without her help they wouldn't have been this successful in killing so many demons.  
She was always there to pick them up or repair their weapons.  
This kicked a discussion off about Nico's driving and Nero always destroying the weapons she makes for him and so on.  
But it was all just friendly bickering.

Dante listened to them and smiled.  
Oh, how he had missed this, missed them.  
He was so glad to be back.

After a while, Dante noticed that Kyrie was missing.  
She had left the group to get something from the kitchen but hadn't returned yet.

Damn it!  
Vergil was there!  
Dante got up and had to force himself not to run towards the kitchen and in doing so alarming the others.  
He didn't want any more fights tonight.

It was a relief when he saw that Kyrie was still in one piece, safe and sound.  
She was standing next to Vergil, who was sitting on a chair with an odd facial expression, one that Dante had never seen before.

"Oh, good, you're here. I was about to ask you to have a look at him", Kyrie said.  
She sounded worried.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. Is he sick? I found him like this when I entered the kitchen. He hasn't moved, hasn't said a word. He doesn't respond to anything I say or do. Is this some demon-thing that I don't understand?"

"Hm... no, not that I know of."

Urgh, Vergil looked seriously creepy.  
Kyrie was one hell of a woman for not running away screaming and even more so, for showing honest concern.  
Vergil's ice-blue eyes were wide open and glowing but he didn't seem to notice what was happening around him at all.  
Drool was running from the corners of his mouth and dripping down onto his pants and the floor.  
Even that didn't seem to bother him, which was probably the biggest sign that something was absolutely wrong here.

Dante grabbed his brother's shoulders and shook him.  
"Hey, Verge, whatever you're doing, snap out of it."

No reaction.  
This was starting to freak him out.  
Anyone could've attacked Vergil in this state and rip him to pieces in no time.  
His brother would've never let his guard down like that.  
How odd.

"Well, gonna do the old classic and slap him in the face. Let's see if that gets a reaction out of him."  
Dante shrugged. "You might wanna stand aside a bit, can't say what's gonna happen."

Kyrie nodded and moved over to the kitchen entrance behind Dante.

It was a pretty good slap.  
Knocked Vergil right off the chair and threw him against a cupboard.  
The reaction however was a bit anticlimactic.  
No weird stuff happened.  
The slap had done the trick though.  
Vergil's eyes stopped glowing and a moan escaped his lips.  
He ran a hand over his face and was confused when he felt the wetness on his chin.

"Yep, that's your drool, brother. Wanna tell us what the hell you were up to in the kitchen?"

Vergil looked down at his hand, his pants and the puddle of drool on the floor.  
The sight seemed to unsettle him immensely.  
Suddenly, Kyrie appeared next to Vergil with a cloth in her hand.  
She knelt down and wanted to hand him the cloth, so that he could clean his face but Vergil tried to scrambled backwards, like a scared little kitten.  
Dante almost expected him to hiss too.  
He couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"What's the matter with you brother? Scared of humans? Or just women?"

The look that Kyrie shot him now made him feel ashamed of himself (damn that woman!) and he stopped laughing immediately.  
But maybe she was right.  
Maybe he should take this more seriously.  
He walked over to Vergil, grabbed his arm, pulled him to his feet and handed him the Yamato.  
"There you go."  
The weapon had been lying on the floor next to the chair the entire time.  
For a second Dante feared that his brother might topple over but he used the Yamato like a cane to steady himself just in time.  
When he began to slowly walk out of the kitchen, Dante called after him: "Hey, where do you think you're going? You still haven't answered my question. What was that?"

"Nothing. Do not trouble over it. I'll be upstairs."

"To do what? Drool a bit more?"  
Uhh...that look again from Kyrie.

His brother wasn't in the mood for a fight, not even a verbal one.  
He simply said: "To rest", walked past the others and up the stairs, leaning heavily on the Yamato.  
Why was this sight so strangely familiar?  
Dante scratched the stubble on his cheek.  
Ah, yes.  
V and his cane.  
That's why.  
Vergil's demeanour reminded him of V.

* * *

For a second there, Nero thought that he saw V walking out of the kitchen.  
But then he realised it was his father.  
And holy shit, what had Kyrie been doing in the kitchen with them?  
Was she alright?  
She looked upset.  
Nero got up and walked up to Kyrie and Dante.  
Both stood in the kitchen entrance, their eyes following Vergil.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?"

"Beats me." Dante shrugged his shoulders and got back to his pizza and beer.

"Kyrie?" Nero said in growing confusion.

"Come into the kitchen with me. I'll tell you everything while I clean something up."

Clean something up? What the hell happened in there?

* * *

Of course Kyrie would tell Nero but Dante had hoped she would do that on their way home, or something like that.  
Not right now.  
It ruined his nice party completely.  
Because Nero had to be loud and dramatic about the whole thing and so everyone in the office was well informed in the end.

And now Nero was sitting next to him on the couch, talking Dante's ear off about how he should check on Virgil and that this was a bad sign, something was up and he had to make sure that this was not going to be the start of yet another demon tree growing in the city and so on... and so forth... at one point Dante stopped listening to the kid.  
He was repeating himself anyway and besides, Dante knew, of course he knew that he had to keep an eye on his brother, no one had to tell him that.

In the middle of fighting him on top of the Qliphoth, Dante had realised that something was off about Vergil.  
Obviously, he didn't know if it was simply due to the many years they had spent apart, living in different worlds even, that his brother seemed different.  
Or it was because his brother had split himself in two (must have had some sort of impact on him), or because there was something yet unknown the matter with him.  
But whatever it was, Dante would deal with it.  
He would always deal with it.

"He's got a point, Dante."  
Great, now Trish was going to start lecturing him as well?

"Listen guys, I know my brother. If I am going to ask him about this, he's just gonna stab me. I won't get any answers."

"Fine. Then I'm gonna talk to him", Nero said as he got up and headed for the stairs.

Dante's eyes widened.  
"What?! You?"

"If you're not gonna do it, then I will."

A nervous chuckle left Dante's lips.  
"That's not a good idea."

"Why? Because he could stab me? I am not afraid of that...unlike you."

"Now, hold on! I am not afraid of getting stabbed!"

Trish smiled and said: "No, you are just afraid of having a serious conversation with your brother."

"Sheesh! Guys! What's the matter with you?!"  
Dante looked at everyone in the room, quietly pleading for someone to back him up but no such luck.

He rolled his eyes and got up with a sigh.  
"Alright, alright. You win. I'm gonna talk to him. Happy?"

He saw the satisfied smirk on Nero's face and really had to fight the urge to punch him, when he walked past him to get up the stairs.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his hand with a feather light touch and held him back. He turned around and saw that it was Kyrie.  
With a pleading look on her face, she asked him not to make fun of Virgil, because it was probably embarrassing enough for him.

Aww...wasn't she adorable!  
He smiled at her and said: "I'll be nice."

Guess his welcome-home party was over then.

* * *

When they had gotten back from the Underworld, the first thing Dante had to absolutely have, was a long shower.  
He usually didn't mind dirt, blood, stench or bits of demon flesh in his hair or on his clothes but this time he had felt incredibly unclean (he blamed their 'unpleasant' way back for that) and he had been relieved to finally be able to wash everything off.

After he'd been done, he had told Vergil that the shower was all his now.  
The raised eyebrow and the bewildered look on his brother's face had been a clear sign that his brother had no clue what Dante had been referring to.  
It had been hilarious and worrying at the same time but Dante hadn't been able to stop himself from mocking his brother.

Vergil had forgotten what a shower was.  
It had been too good to not make fun of him for that one.  
Of course, all those years in the Underwold (without showers..hehehe...) and yeah, probably Mundus' torture and the brainwashing as well, it all might have messed with Vergil's head a bit.  
Perfectly understandable to forget what a shower is.  
And a nice person would have simply told Vergil that it was fine and explained showers and their purpose to him but Dante wasn't...you know...a nice person.  
Of course he had told his brother what showers were, he wasn't a complete asshole, but he might have enjoyed the moment a bit too much.

Dante grinned as he passed by the bathroom door and recalled the whole scene.  
Ah, well, he had to focus on more pressing matters now.  
The drooling.  
Dante chuckled.  
No!  
He scolded himself.  
He wasn't going to make fun of this again.  
He was going to be all serious and concerned.

He heard footsteps coming from the room that was now Vergil's.  
What was his brother doing?  
Pacing around?  
It sure sounded like that.  
Maybe he should have a peek through the keyhole, before he knocked.  
Just to...you know...

Ha!  
He was pacing.  
And...mumbling to himself?  
Vergil was really loosing it, wasn't he?  
And why was he always touching his mouth?  
Oh, of course.  
Wiping off the drool.  
Dante chuckled but immediately stopped himself when he realised that his brother might be able to hear this.  
Luckily, he hadn't and was still pacing around the room.  
Dante sighed.

Ah, well.  
He had to go in there at one point.  
Might as well get over with it.  
Should he knock?

Suddenly the loud voice of his brother made him jump. "Go away, Dante."  
Damn it!  
He must've heard him chuckle after all.

Dante ignored his brothers request, opened the door, stepped into the room and closed the door behind him again.  
Because the others didn't need to hear them, right?

Vergil stopped pacing around and scowled at him.

"Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Oh, I did."

"And yet here you are."

"Yup."

Hm...Vergil hadn't wiped his mouth since Dante had entered the room but he did swallow a lot more than one normally would.  
Also...was that sweat on his forehead?  
The longer Dante looked at him the more it became obvious that Vergil felt like crap.  
He even seemed to sway a little.

"Why are you here, Dante?"

"I gotta know what's going on with you."

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Riiiight. Well in that case, why don't you come down and join us? Have a drink?"

Suddenly, a growl escaped Vergil's throat and quite a lot of drool welled over his lower lip, dripping down to the floor.  
He pressed a hand over his mouth and turned around in an attempt to hide it from Dante.  
Which was way too late, by the way.  
He had seen the whole thing.  
Urgh!

"Yeah, you seem to be really fine. No offence brother, but that's kinda disgusting."  
What?  
He wasn't mocking him.  
He was just stating the obvious.

Vergil didn't say a word, he just stood there, staring at the floor, one hand covering his mouth and breathing heavily through the nose.

"Oh, come on, Verge. Don't make me drag it out of you. Talk. I promise I won't tell anyone if it's something embarrassing."

All of a sudden, Vergil's legs gave out from under him but Dante reacted in an instant and was able to catch him before he hit the floor.  
He expected his brother to have lost consciousness but that wasn't the case.  
This was getting weirder by the minute.  
Such open display of weakness was out of character for Vergil, especially in front of Dante.  
It reminded him of V again.

"I am losing the battle."  
Dante heard his brother mutter when he helped him lie down on the bed.

"Battle? What battle?"

And finally Vergil started to talk.  
Dante grabbed a chair that was standing next to the wardrobe, so he could sit as close to the bed as possible and would hear what his brother was saying, because he spoke in a low and weak voice now.

"The fruit I consumed..."

"The ugly dripping raspberry-apple?"

Vergil sighed and rolled his eyes (a good sign, he wasn't dying then, if he was still able to do that, right?) and continued: "Yes. It was made from undiluted human blood."

"Yeah, I know and it was suppose to give you incredible power."  
And yet I defeated you, Dante thought but refrained from saying it out loud.  
Because even mentioning the supposed power earned him a snarl.

"Did you ever drink human blood? Maybe accidentally?" Vergil asked and Dante frowned while thinking hard.  
Hm...human blood...no.  
..demon blood, yes, probably more than once...but not on purpose.  
Sometimes in a fight you get drenched in that stuff and it sort of ends up in your mouth as well.  
It was tasty and nutritious for demons and half-demons but he wouldn't go out there and actively hunt them for a drink.  
But humans...nah...

"As far as I know, I never had human blood. Why?"

"Because you probably won't understand then. The fruit gave me power, it was an incredible feeling and when I was...a half-demon again, this power waned and I was left with but a taste of what human blood can do for a demon. That's why they all are thirsting for it. Killing humans one by one and drinking their blood can never be compared with what the Qliphoth fruit gives you in an instant but they all take what they can get their hands on. I know now. I know, because my demon side wants it, too. And I fear I'm losing this fight."

"Hang on a sec. I kicked Urizen's ass even after he had eaten that weird power fruit. He could drink the whole planet dry and he still wouldn't beat me. Doesn't this get through that thick skull of his?"

Now it was Vergil's turn to look confused. "Urizen?"

"Ah, sorry. Your human half called your demon half Urizen."

"I see. I have a faint recollection of Nero calling me that once."

"So you want to drink human blood. Is that why you are drooling all over the place?"  
Dante still wasn't mocking him. Mind you.

Vergil looked appalled and said with a firm voice: "I don't want to drink human blood."

There was drool trickling out of the left corner of his mouth and he moaned as he wiped it off with the back of his hand.

"It's the only thing my demon half can think of. But I am trying to withstand this...urge...this burning need to...taste this warm and sweet..."  
There was a very uncharacteristic soft smile as Vergil licked his lips and tried to get out of the bed.  
Dante pushed him down again.

"Ah, no no no. You stay."  
Like a good little puppy.  
Hehehe...  
No, this wasn't mockery.  
It only counted as mocking if he said it out loud.

"So, ehm...just to make this a bit easier to understand: Urizen wants to drink human blood but V doesn't. And V is trying to stop Urizen?"

"If you want to put it that way, yes. But I am not V, nor am I Urizen as a single entity. I am both of them. Myself. A half-demon, fighting against the urges of his demonic nature."

"Alright. I just like to picture the miniature versions of V and Urizen inside your head, fighting over who gets to control your body." Dante chuckled.

"Do you still think it is a laughing matter when I rip your friends' throat apart? Or Nero's friends, what if I kill them? Will it still amuse you then?"

Dante raised one eyebrow.

"Why, brother?! This sounds like you've gotten a conscience, like you care about humans."

This earned him a scowl.  
Dante decided to get serious again and asked: "But tell me this, what's the point? The drinking blood, I mean. To get more power again? You said it yourself, killing humans and drinking their blood won't be like the fruit at all. And it won't give you more power. Or maybe just for a few hours and it will never be enough to beat me anyway. It didn't work with the demon-tree-filtered-blood-cocktail-fruit, it won't work with the fresh stuff."

"I didn't lose. We weren't done fighting yet."

Dante shrugged and rolled his eyes.  
"Riiight. Whatever. Tell your demon-side that human blood is off limits."

"Ingenious. What do you think I've been doing since those human friends of yours have entered the house? The crux of the matter is that my demon-side is considerably stronger than my human-side. And it is sort of futile to reason with my demon-half when the smell of human blood negates any attempt to form a coherent thought."

Dante sighed. He wished his brother would use normal words but hey...at least he wasn't talking in fucking riddles like V used to.  
Guess he had to be grateful.

"So...how do we solve this then?"

"There is nothing to be solved. I have to go back to the Underworld. I don't belong here."

"Oh hell no! You'll just raise another weird tree. Maybe even to get another one of those raspberry-apples."

"This fruit can only grow in a few thousand years again."

"Good. But I still won't let you go. You're staying."

"Don't be childish, Dante. I am a danger to your friends, to the humans out there. I might have not seen it before, but I know now that my actions have caused a lot of suffering and I cannot erase those mistakes but I can stop myself before I make any new ones."

"You know...V knew he couldn't win against Urizen. That's why he came to me, to ask for help. Why not do it again?"

Vergil furrowed his brow. "Do what?"

"Your human-half and me against your demon-half. We won before and we will win again. Come on! You have nothing to lose, really. If it doesn't work you can still go and hide in the Underworld if you want to but I suspect that in telling me all this, you secretly hope that I will stop you. So? What do you say? I'll keep you in check, no humans will get hurt and who knows, maybe the urge will subside or you'll learn how to control it. Sounds like an excellent plan, doesn't it?"

There was only a hum in response but then Vergil added hesitantly: "If I kill someone..."

Dante didn't let him finish the sentence: "...then it'll be on me. Not your fault. I'll be to blame. But it won't happen. Trust me."

Another hum.  
It seemed like Vergil was inclined to agree with Dante's plan.

Dante smiled. "Maybe you can join the AHBA."

"What is that?"

"The Anonymous Human Blood Addicts."

Dante laughed out loud when he saw the look on his brother's face.

"That is not funny, Dante."

"Oh, come on. Lighten up, brother."

* * *

Hi guys,

This was suppose to be a longer story but the energy to write sort of left me. U_U  
Maybe I will write more later, maybe not.  
I still hope you enjoyed reading it.  
Leave a comment.  
I love them

All rights belong to Capcom.


	2. Chapter 2

Dante really wanted to go back to his...well...party, or whatever that meeting downstairs was.  
But leaving Vergil alone was probably not such a good idea and certainly not with the Yamato in his possession.

"I know you won't like this", Dante began and at the same time reached down to grab the katana that was lying next to the bed.  
"What are you doing?" Vergil asked, already alarmed and trying to sit up.  
"I will hold on to the Yamato for now...just until you feel better, more in control."  
"No! You can't...!" Vergil reached out and tried to take his weapon back but Dante was quicker.  
He jumped up, pushed his brother down with one hand and the Yamato that was in his other hand, disappeared to a place where only Dante would be able to get it back from.

"How dare you!? Give it back to me!", his brother growled and there was a dangerous blue glint in his eyes.  
But this didn't impress Dante, not in the least.  
He stayed calm, sat down onto the chair again and said: "Ah...no. I won't. You should not have a weapon that allows you to open up portals whenever you feel like it. Imagine Urizen opens up a portal that gets him to a place filled with hundreds of juicy humans? Imagine you lose the fight and you can't stop him and you have to watch as he slaughters them all. Sounds good?"

The blue glint in his brother's eyes disappeared and just as quick the anger seemed to dissipate.  
He turned his head away and mumbled: "No."  
"Exactly. That's why the Yamato will stay with me, just until you are able to...control this."  
There was only a curt nod but that was enough for Dante and he drew a deep breath.  
Right.  
He hadn't expected this to go so smoothly.  
His brother really was worried of hurting humans.  
Interesting.

Suddenly, the image of something he had almost forgotten, crossed his mind.  
Yes, this could be of use here.  
Now where did he put it all those years ago?  
He knew he still had it...somewhere...in the office maybe, or in his room?

"Alright, ehm...I have to go and get something. I just remembered that I own the perfect thing to help...with all this."  
Dante really tried, he really tried not to chuckle as he envisioned his brother wearing...hehehe...  
Ohh, it was hard but he managed, there was only a smirk on his face when he walked towards the door and said: "Stay put. I'll be back soon."

He had started his search in his own bedroom and had found it in the first drawer he'd opened.  
Sweet!  
This would work out nicely.  
He knew that Kyrie would probably kill him for that but to be honest, he really thought that this could help his brother.  
He couldn't deny that it would be immense fun to see his brother wearing it and that he might have just thought of it because of all the drooling, but hey...nobody had to know that, right?  
He was just trying to help his brother and was making sure that no humans got hurt.  
That's what they wanted from him.  
Nero, Trish, Lady...they wanted him to control the situation. And control he would.  
If he could only stop himself from grinning all the time.

When he got back to his brother's room, he had his face under control again and with a very neutral facial expression (he was proud of that one), he said: "So, I found it."

Oh, boy.  
He did not think that far ahead.  
How could he make Vergil wear it?  
He would never agree...

"What is it?", Vergil asked, already on his guard.

Dante had to sell it...somehow...like this was something that he didn't want to do, but...that it was necessary and the only way...or...something like that.  
And preferably without grinning...oh...yeah...this was going to be hard.  
Dante sighed inwardly.  
Showtime!

He tried to look as glum as possible, as he put the object down on the bed next to Vergil and shrugged.  
"Ah, now that I held it in my hands again and remembered what it does, I don't think it's a good idea after all. I thought we could use it, but it seems more like a torture device than anything helpful. I have to think of something else."

He turned around to face the window, pretending to be in deep thoughts, when all he really did was counting down. 5,4,3,2,1...

"Why don't you explain its purpose first, before dismissing the plan of using it so rigorously?"

Bingo!

Grinning on the inside was just not as satisfying...but it had to be enough for now.

"Ah, you know...a few years back I fought a couple of demons and one of them was wearing this. Not voluntarily, the other one was controlling him by holding onto the chain. I killed them both and took the thing with me. That's it."

"I see. So if I would wear this...how exactly would you be able to control me?"

"We're not gonna do this."

"Just explain, Dante."

"Alright. It's not that complicated really. If you...or better...Urizen would try to attack a human, I'd simply pull at the chain attached to it and metal spikes will appear on the inside and the more you struggle the deeper they would sink into your flesh, agonizingly slow of course. It's simple and effective but as I said; it's a torture device. We're not gonna do this."

"Hm." Vergil was holding the metal ring (a collar, it was soooo a collar), turning it around, examining it.  
He pulled at the chain (oh, come on! The leash...it was a leash) and the spikes appeared on the inside of the collar.

Uhh...he was close to agreeing!  
Just one more push.

"Oh come on! You can't be seriously considering this?" Dante asked appalled, biting down on the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face.

"It is certainly crude...and I doubt its effectiveness. But maybe the pain would distract my demon-side long enough for me to take over again. You know...in the kitchen, I was about to lose and attack the woman but then you hit me and I was somewhat in control again. So this might actually work. At least it's worth a shot."

Oh, yessss!  
This was going to be hilarious!  
He was going to have Vergil on a leash.  
Literally!

Keep a straight face, Dante, act neutral and a little bit surprised.  
"Oh...alright. I guess if you want to, we can try it."

"And don't flatter yourself, Dante."

"What?"

"You didn't trick me into this. I am fully aware of the absurdity of the situation. I will be your demon-dog on a leash and drooling as well. No doubt, that this will be some sick and twisted fun for you but remember that I am willing to degrade myself like this in order to keep your precious humans safe."

Oh, man! How did he know?!

Leave it to Vergil to take the fun out of everything.


	3. Chapter 3

"No", Vergil ground out.  
He was panting, one hand clawing at the metal collar around his neck and the other covered his mouth.  
Drool was already seeping through his fingers.  
"Take me back to my room. I can't do this."

They were already at the foot of the stairs. They could hear the music from the old Jukebox and the others talking to each other.

"Calm down. This is the perfect moment to test this. And besides, Urizen has to learn that humans are off limits. It's better we do this around humans who actually know who you are and won't freak out."

Dante smiled and hoped that it would encourage Vergil rather than enrage him.  
Ah well, it had no effect at all.  
His brother was still worried and nervous as hell.

"Don't let go of the chain. If I hurt them..."  
A low-pitched growl escaped his lips, angry and frustrated, followed by a desperate moan.  
"I can't...He's clawing at my insides..."

Vergil, or well..V was obviously struggling to keep the upper hand.

"Don't worry. I got this. They're my friends, remember? I won't let you hurt them."

The spikes weren't out yet.  
Dante only wanted to pull at the chain, when Urizen was out and about to attack someone.  
V was not the one who should suffer that pain.  
Well, he would feel the pain, too. That was inevitable. After all, they shared one body but the first shock of the spikes piercing through the tender skin of the neck should be reserved for Urizen.

Dante noticed that his friends had stopped talking.  
They must've heard Vergil's growl.  
The music was still playing though and Dante was glad, because the awkward silence was more tolerable that way.  
They enterd the office.

"Hey, we're back. Is there still some pizza left?"

There was no answer.  
Everyone was staring at Vergil.  
And yeah, he couldn't blame them.  
His brother, who stood behind him, looked downright creepy again.  
Urizen was out.  
Blue glowing eyes, drool dripping down to the floor and hands turned into claws (that one was new).  
He slowly made his way towards Lady.  
They all got up at once and Kyrie and Nico retreated to the desk, while Trish and Nero flanked Lady.

"Dante! What the hell?! Why did you bring him down here?" Nero barked at him.

"Calm down. I got this. He's not gonna hurt anyone."

"Oh, yeah? Just because you got him on a leash?" Nero scoffed.

"Exactly. Watch this."

Urizen was just about to jump at Lady when Dante yanked at the chain.  
A chocked growl could be heard, as the demon staggered back.  
Shock, pain and anger clearly visible on his face.  
He turned around to see who was holding the chain.  
Drool now mixed with blood welled out of his mouth as he growled venomously: "Dante."

"Ah, yep. I'm afraid that's how it's gonna be for now. As soon as you get over that blood-addiction of yours, I'll take the collar off but until then, you will be my good little puppy and do as I say. Now, stop drooling and sit."

Obviously, that would make Urizen even more angry but Dante just hadn't been able to resist.

And here were go.

The demon growled and charged at Dante but as the devil hunter had seen the attack coming, he was able to yank at the chain before Urizen had reached him.  
This time, the demon collapsed, retching and gurgling.  
He was probably chocking on his own blood or the damage to his windpipe was too severe. Whatever it was, he passed out.

"See. Nothing happened, everyone is safe. I told you; I got this."  
Dante smiled but soon enough got serious again (and yes...a little bit annoyed as well...)when he saw how his friends looked at him.  
"What?"

"Care to explain what the hell is going on? We asked you to talk to Vergil and you...what?...got him a leash?"

Why was Nero always this loud and aggressive?

"Calm down. And since you asked me this nicely, I will explain it to you. Sit down, have something to drink and relax, alright? Everything is under control."

They all sat back down on the couch and chairs.  
They were a bit hesitant though and eyed Vergil suspiciously, who was still lying on the floor, out cold. But they were now calm enough to listen to Dante's explanation.  
He told them everything, because what was the point of making up some story or telling only half of it?  
They had the right to know, heck, they needed to know.  
Especially Nico, Kyrie and Lady. In order to stay alive.

"He really agreed to that?" was Trish's question after Dante had finished talking.

"Yes. He did. I think he learned something while he was V. Don't know what but he seems to...well, care is the wrong word, I guess, but he doesn't want to hurt humans anymore."

Lady laughed: "Ha! That's rich...a few minutes ago, he wanted to tear me to shreds and apparently drink my blood."

"That was his demon-side. As I said, that side is currently addicted to human blood but as soon as he overcomes this addiction, everything will be fine."

His friends looked at him as if he just told them the worst joke on the planet.  
Well, then, he probably had to make it a bit more emotional.  
All of them, except Kyrie, had met V and they seemed to have liked the man.

"Alright, picture it like that: V and Urizen are constantly fighting over who gets to control my brother's body. And you've seen V, he will not stand a chance. He is weak. He is alone. His demon friends are dead. We have to help him. We have to make sure that he wins this fight, that he can keep Urizen away from human blood until this blinding need dies down and hopefully disappears altogether."

Nice!  
He obviously had chosen the right words.  
Their facial expressions changed.  
It wasn't pure anger anymore, there was pity as well (of course Kyrie had been compassion in the flesh the whole time).  
Only Nero looked different. He seemed determined, like he wanted to do something right now but didn't know where to start and then he said: "Of course we'll help V." And the others slowly nodded.

Huh...would you look at that, Dante thought.  
They really must've liked V.  
He himself had found the skinny human sketchy and annoying, with his weird poetry quotes.  
But whatever...as long as his friends agreed to help Vergil.

* * *

All rights belong to Capcom


	4. Chapter 4

Soon after that little talk, his friends had decided to go home.  
The party had never been a real party anyway but Dante promised himself that he'd retry it one day.  
Because this was not acceptable.  
It had to be possible to gather all his friends and have a good time with them and not have it end up in some weird drama, or huge argument, or fight, or demon tree extermination, or anything like that.

He watched the taillights of Nico's van disappear in the distance, turned around, walked back into the office and closed the door.  
Now, what...Woah!  
Dante almost collided with his brother, who had appeared out of nowhere and was now kneeling in front of him, his head bowed.  
Jeez, he had still been unconscious a minute ago.  
Even with a freaking chain attached to him, he was able to move without a sound.

With a hollow, monotonous voice Vergil said: "I have failed you, Master, please forgive me."

Master?  
Well, as much as he would like to be called that...this was all sorts of wrong.  
Vergil bowing down, apologizing and asking for forgiveness?  
He wouldn't have thought that his brother was even capable of one of these things, let alone all three at the same time.  
The display of submission, obedience and what was it...apathy?...made Dante feel sick.

"Vergil, stop fooling around and get up."

Still staring at the floor, Vergil answered: "Vergil is dead. I am Nelo Angelo. I exist to serve you."

Oh, shit.  
He might have broken his brother.  
Nelo Angelo was the name Mundus had given him, right?  
Maybe he was just sort of lost in a memory, or something.

"Hey, look at me."  
Vergil lifted his head but he seemed to look right through Dante.  
"I am not your Master. I am your brother, Dante. Do you recognize me?"

There was a hint of a frown on Vergil's face, when he answered: "Dante? I know that name. I am supposed to kill someone with that name."

"No, you are not Mundus' slave anymore. You are Vergil, son of Sparda and Eva and I am your twin-brother Dante. You have returned to your family, to me, to Nero. Nero is your son. Remember?"

He didn't know what else to say.  
Would this be enough to bring his mind back to the present?  
Should he slap him again?  
Use the collar?  
No, that was for Urizen and this was clearly not Urizen.

Suddenly, Vergil got up and pressed his hands against his temples, shaking his head slightly.  
"I don't know. There is nothing...I...What?"  
He made a few steps to the right, then to the left.  
"Where am I?"

Dante had never seen his brother like this before. So utterly lost, confused and so...vulnerable. It was painful to witness, almost unbearable for Dante.  
This was wrong!  
He had to put an end to this.

Vergil was almost hyperventilating now because he didn't recognise anything around him.  
He was stumbling through the office, muttering to himself and then started to hit the left side of his head repeatedly.  
Dante was at a loss.  
He had no clue what to do...what to say but then he decided to let his instincts guide him. And he simply did what felt right. He walked over to his brother and pulled him into a hug.  
He tried to calm him down by whispering into his ear that he was safe, that no one could hurt him while Dante was around and that Dante would never leave him.  
He expected his brother to shove him away, to curse him or something along those lines but the exact opposite happened.  
A tremor went through Vergil's body, accompanied by a whimper.  
He leaned his head against Dante's shoulder and began to cry.

It was almost soundless but Dante saw the tears fall down and felt him tremble with each breath he drew.  
The moment seemed so incredible fragile that Dante didn't dare to move.  
He simply held his brother close and gently stroked his back in a slow and soothing way (or so he hoped). Their mother used to do that but Dante wasn't sure if he did it right. This was not his...ah...area of expertise, he was more the shooting and stabbing kinda guy.  
But Vergil didn't pull away, so he assumed it was alright.

They stood like this for a while until his brother drew a deep breath and stepped back.  
His head bowed, looking down at the floor.

Was this still Nelo Angelo?  
"Uhm...Vergil?"Dante asked tentatively, holding his breath, "Are you...with me again? Do you know where you are?"

"Yes, Dante."  
Dante exhaled and grinned in relief.  
Yep, this voice belonged to his brother.  
It wasn't the apathetic one of Nelo Angelo.

"How about I take the collar off and you can have another shower? Change into cleaner clothes as well?"  
Vergil still avoided to look at Dante, as he gave a curt nod and headed towards the stairs, carelessly trailing the chain.  
Odd, very odd.  
Dante frowned.  
He wouldn't let his brother out of his sight for the next couple of hours, that was for sure.  
Whatever this...ehm...this...had been, it felt far from over.  
And maybe the leash hadn't been such a genius idea after all.  
Dante mulled over the whole situation, while he followed his brother upstairs to the bathroom.

* * *

Oh, man.  
He had to tell Dante.  
Where the hell was he?

Nero barged into the office, noticed that no one was around and ran towards the stairs. It was ten o'clock in the morning. Maybe Dante was still asleep.  
Ah, well, he would simply wake the old man up and he wouldn't feel bad about it, because this was important.

He got to Dante's bedroom and was surprised to see the door already open, or it had been open the whole night, which was more likely because the devil hunter was still in bed.  
Lying on his stomach, buried under blankets and pillows, only a mop of silver hair and an arm that was hanging over the side of the bed with the hand touching the floor, were visible.

"Hey, Dante! Get up! We have work to do!"  
Nero shouted and slapped the back of his uncle's head as hard as he could.  
In the blink of an eye, the arm that had been lazily hanging over the side of the bed, shot up and a strong hand closed around Nero's throat, squeezing.  
Amazingly quick, almost lizard-like, Dante got out of the bed, without even once lessening his grip.  
He spat out a single word and immediately Nero's blood ran cold.  
"Insolence."  
In a split second two things happened. Nero saw Dante walking casually into his bedroom, drying his hair with a towel and he notice the collar around the neck of the 'Dante' in front of him.  
Oh...  
It began to dawn on him.  
Shit!

He did smack Vergil on the head, didn't he?  
Oh, boy!

But what the hell is he doing in Dante's bed anyway?!  
He wasn't supposed to be here.  
Wasn't supposed to look so much like Dante, with his hair all messed up and in those clothes...were these Dante's clothes? This was freaking confusing!

"Woah", Dante dropped the towel and with a few strides stood next to them, "hey there, calm down and let him go, Vergil."  
Jeez, he sounded like he was talking to a wild animal.  
But Vergil sure looked like one at the moment with this collar around his neck and the chain...what the...?! The chain was attached to the bed?!

Vergil finally decided to let go of Nero's throat and Nero staggered away from him, coughing.  
"Do you have to be this hostile?", he rasped.  
"You attacked me first."  
"I didn't attack you. I just smacked you on the head."  
"Never touch me when I sleep."  
"I mistook you for Dante, alright? I'm sorry. Jeez." Nero rolled his eyes and rubbed his aching throat.  
Dante chuckled and said: "You two are hilarious. But as much fun as it is to watch you guys bicker, I gotta ask: What are you doing here, Nero?"

For a few seconds, Nero had no clue why he had come to Dante's home in the first place. His mind was still trying to process what just happened. He noticed that he was standing there with his mouth agape and became aware of how stupid he must look like this.  
Nice.  
He coughed again to buy his mind more time to catch up and luckily, this did the trick. He remembered.

"So...ehm...there was this earthquake. Not a very strong one, but somehow, it was enough to tear a hole in the ground...well, it's more like a trench...anyway, demons are crawling out of that hole and attacking people. It's just outside of Red Grave City and since I have no clue how to close this hole, portal or whatever it is that allows those demons to get through to our world, I came here. I killed a lot of them already, but new ones just keep crawling out."

"Earthquake? I didn't notice that", Dante said, scratching his chin.

"Me neither. But the people living close to that rift, told me that they felt it. Maybe the ground just shook when this thing opened. I don't know. But that's not the point. Do you know how to close something like that? I mean, Vergil, you still have the Yamato, right?"

Vergil scoffed and turned his back on them, like a sulking child.  
Nero looked at Dante, questioningly.  
"Oh, yeah. Forgot to tell you. I am holding on to the Yamato for the time being."

Ah, now that explained Vergil's behaviour.

"But we'll both come and check that rift out, of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Both?  
Was it a good idea to bring the creepy half-demon wearing a leash?  
Out loud, Nero said: "Is it safe for the people outside, if Vergil comes, too?"

"Sure. A lot safer than letting him stay here, alone. Even if I'd chain him up in the cellar and throw away the key, he'd find a way to disappear, I'm sure of it."  
Dante laughed as he said those words but Nero saw that he was worried or sad about something. Dante was able to hide a lot behind humour but Nero had learned that he could usually catch a glimpse of his uncles' real feelings by looking him in the eyes. But whatever it was, that was worrying Dante, Nero wouldn't address it. Not in front of Vergil. Because a little voice inside is head told him, that it was about his father.  
Urgh...father.  
This was the first time he had thought of Vergil like that.  
Way too weird.  
He pushed that thought aside. He had no time to dwell on that. They had to get going.

"Are you quite done talking about me?" Vergil said, seemingly bored. "Because I argue against Dante's decision."  
Dante nodded: "Exactly. Wait...what?"

"I fail to see how my presence at this rift would be beneficial. I don't have the Yamato and the second I smell human blood, you will get distracted, trying to stop me from killing humans. Without me, you will be more focused. I stay here."

It was obvious to Nero that Dante was torn. He did not want to leave his brother alone, but he also wanted to help Nero with those demons. But why was this so difficult for him? Why not lock Vergil up in the basement and be done with it? The man couldn't escape without the Yamato and his collar around his neck was demon-made, so Vergil couldn't take it off himself. Dante had explained the whole thing to them last night. If he would attach the chain to something sturdy and heavy, Vergil wouldn't be able to run off. So why was leaving Vergil alone for a few hours such a big deal for Dante?

Nero was getting a bit antsy. He tried to speed things up by saying: "Alright, chain him up somewhere then. We gotta move."

* * *

The kid was right.  
They had to go.  
The longer this hole or trench or whatever it was, stayed open, the more demons could come through and terrorize the remaining people of Red Grave City.  
But leaving Vergil's side...after all the weird shit that had happened during the night...ah, he just wasn't sure...was it the right thing to do?

After he had taken the collar off and had closed the door to the bathroom, so Vergil could have some privacy, he had sat down on the floor right there and had pondered about the whole Nelo Angelo episode and if he could use something else than this collar to keep Vergil in check. But nothing else came to mind.  
And then suddenly, he noticed that the water hadn't been running for a while now. Vergil must have been done with cleaning himself.  
Why hadn't he stepped out of the bathroom yet?  
A pang of worry had hit Dante and he had almost unhinged the door when he had entered the bathroom without a warning.  
The first thing he had noticed had been the sweet and delicious smell of grilled meat but when his eyes had had enough time to catch up with his nose, Dante's stomach had churned.

There in front of him had been Vergil, sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the tiled wall and staring at his own burning arm with something that could've only been described as curiosity.  
Next to him on the floor had been a bottle of rubbing alcohol and an open box of matches.  
Dante had thrown a towel over the burning limb, cursing under his breath.  
His brother had looked at him with glazed eyes and had said: "I don't understand it, Dante. Our bodies always heal, almost instantly. It doesn't matter if we get burned or stabbed or torn to shreds, we always heal."  
He had let the towel slide down, revealing a perfectly healed up arm.  
"Why can't my mind be whole again like that? Why is it still in pieces? It's getting worse, I can feel it. There are times where I don't know who I am anymore. Why can't it be fixed?"

Dante had mumbled that he didn't know why, had pulled his brother to his feet and had steered him to his own bedroom. There had been no objection. Vergil had seemed to be in some sort of trance-like state where he simply didn't care what happened to him. Almost like a child that blindly trusted it's parents.  
It had been creepy as fuck.  
Dante had given him some of his clothes and had even had to help him get dressed.  
After that, he had put the collar back around Vergil's neck and had attached the chain to the bed (not enough to hold him of course, but enough to wake Dante up if he decided to get away during the night).  
They had slept next to each other, or had tried to anyway.

"Dante! Would you snap out of it and move your ass?!" Nero's annoyed voice brought him back to the present and this stupid, intolerable situation.

"Cool it, kid." Dante growled. "I'll chain him up. Go wait outside."

"Whatever", Nero said as he left in a huff.

Well, it was decided then. He would leave his brother behind, chained up in the cellar, with his mind in complete disarray and a craving for human blood. Nothing could go wrong, right?

He turned to Vergil. "Are you sure about this? No offence, but your mind isn't particularly stable right now. Being alone down there and in chains might mess you up even more."

"I'm fine, Dante."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed, "We have completely different definitions of 'fine' then. You can still change your mind and come with me."

"No, I'll stay."

Dante rolled his eyes and began to remove the chain from the bed.  
He led Vergil down to the cellar, which was, surprise, surprise, full of empty pizza boxes and bottles but there was free space around a square concrete column.  
Dante told his brother to sit down on the floor while he tied him to the column.  
He used the leash as well as three other chains, just to be safe.

"You think that'll be enough to hold Urizen in case he smells humans?"  
Vergil nodded.

Dante cleared his throat.  
"Listen, I want you to know that I hate this. I don't want to leave you alone. I told you that I wouldn't " (actually he had been talking to Nelo Angelo then but maybe Vergil would remember as well) " and only hours after telling you this, I leave."

"It was my choice, Dante. And now go, Nero is waiting."


	5. Chapter 5

The door to the cellar closed and Vergil took a deep breath.

Alright.

He could do this.  
He could fix his mind.  
He just needed a moment of peace, which he had now and he would assemble all the pieces and put them back together.  
And if they wouldn't fit, he would punch them in place if need be.  
Because this...this was unacceptable.  
He couldn't be this unhinged.  
Not when he finally had been able to let go of his relentless pursuit of power.  
He knew now, thanks to V, that his human-side could be a source of power, too.  
If he wouldn't starve it out like he'd done for years on end, that is.  
He had to nurse it back to health and had to try to understand its needs and accept them.  
He had been surrounded by demons for the better part of his life and it was time to live among humans now...or well, with Nero and Dante. He wasn't ready for pure blooded humans yet, for obvious reasons.  
But he would watch Dante and Nero, study them and maybe read some books about human behaviour. He would try to be patient and listen to V and his whims and wishes, no matter how idle they'd seem.

Vergil frowned.  
Why was he still thinking of V and Urizen as two separate beings?  
They weren't.  
They were him, he was them.  
His human side and his demon side.  
There was nothing more to it.

Maybe it was because Dante was always using those names.  
But he was Vergil.  
He knew that.  
He was Vergil.  
Not Urizen, not V and not Nelo Angelo.  
Although, he was uncertain about the latter.  
Mundus had broken Vergil. Years of physical and psychological torture had created Nelo Angelo. He had endured all the things that Vergil hadn't been able to anymore, with apathy and stoicism. He had shoved Vergil to the back of their head and had taken over.  
Humiliation, degradation, servitude and obedience; all of it was not an issue for Nelo Angelo. He had suffered agonies but he had never complained, because he had come into existence to protect Vergil, to save a shred of his sanity.

Vergil had suspected that Nelo Angelo still existed inside his mind. He had created this being so it may live for his stead, when life had become unbearable for himself.  
To think that Nelo Angelo would've simply ceased to exist after Mundus had fallen, was misguided.  
And after last night, he was even more inclined to call it a fact. Because he had been shoved to the back of his head once again and had had to witness how Nelo Angelo's confusion had grown rapidly because of the unfamiliar surroundings and Mundus' absence.  
So if Vergil was more than one person inside his head, then most certainly not V and Urizen, but Vergil and Nelo Angelo.

He could handle that.  
Once he would get over this human-blood addiction, he'd be fine.

"Hey, Dante! Where are you?"

Oh, no!  
A man's voice.  
He didn't recognize him.  
Who was that?  
And what was he doing here?

"Hey, Dante, quit messing around. Lady called me. Told me you were back. When were you planning on telling me?"

"Down here! In the cellar!" Vergil's eyes widened in shock. Why did he say that?  
Oh no!  
His mouth was watering.  
No,no,no.  
Stay where you are, you stupid human, don't come down here! Please?

The door to the cellar opened and all of a sudden the smell of human blood was so intense it almost made him faint. His mind was in a haze, it was hard to focus on anything other than the sweet and delicious scent coming from this living being, who was now standing right in front of him. He could hear the strong heart pumping steady streams of this exquisite red liquid through the body.  
Vergil swallowed and swallowed but his mouth was watering almost instantly again. He hoped that none of it was dripping down his chin. The human in front of him shouldn't see that, or it would scare him off.  
What?  
Scare him off?  
What the hell was he thinking?

The man in front of him was laughing.  
"Oh, Dante. I really don't want to know what you and those two Ladies are up to when you're not eating pizza or hunting demons, so please, do not explain to me why you are chained to this column, wearing a fucking leash. I don't want to hear it. I guess I should be thankful that you're wearing clothes."

Dante?  
Oh...  
Vergil hadn't realized that he was still wearing Dante's clothes and that his hair was a mess. This human thought that he was his twin brother.

"Yeah, sorry for that", Vergil heard himself say with a chuckle, "Could you do me a favour and untie me? Those two just left me like this. They thought it was funny."

" .Ah. No details, please! This," the man pointed at the scene in front of him, "is plenty enough."  
He shook his head but grinned and began to remove the chains.

Vergil heard himself laugh and was amazed how much he could make himself sound like Dante.  
But why was he doing that?  
He wanted to shout and scream, to scare this man away.  
He wanted to yell at him that he was a fool, that he would be dead the minute these chains would hit the floor but he couldn't.  
He could only watch and wait. Helpless and confused, as his addiction made him do things that he didn't want to do. Or was it Urizen doing it, and V condemned to watch?  
NO!  
He had gone through this, he had sorted it out, he had cleared it up: He was Vergil, only Vergil.  
Oh god, what was happening to him?!  
He was losing his mind, he was losing control...please...don't do this. Vergil whispered those last words to his demon side, or Urizen, or the addiction, it didn't really matter who it was, he simply wished him/it to listen.  
Blackness engulfed him and he knew that his words fell on deaf ears.

* * *

"Jeez, how many of those freaking weirdos are out there?" Nero said in disbelief.

"Tell me about it." Dante scoffed.

"I mean, he performed a ritual that he found in an old book, just to see if it would actually work and open up a gate to the Underworld. I'm glad he died in the end. Someone as stupid as him doesn't deserve to live."

"Yep, and I am glad that since the portal had been opened from this side, I could close it with the Yamato from here and didn't have to go back to the Underworld for that. Imagine if I had to make this hellish trip back to the human world a second time! Ugh!" Dante shuddered to think.

Nero and Dante were already inside the devil hunter's house, heading towards the door to the cellar. They had both been surprised that they'd finished this so soon.  
Responsible for the whole thing had been a nutjob who had wanted to feel powerful and had opened up a gate with a ritual that he'd found in a book. All the spells and rituals in there had been surprisingly accurate. Dante had destroyed the book, just in case. He wouldn't tell his brother of course. Vergil would kill him for that.

"How did you get back?" Nero asked.

"Oh no, kid, I am not going to talk about this. Waaaay too disturbing."

They walked down the stairs that led to the cellar, Nero went first.

"Come on. Vergil had the Yamato with him, it couldn't have been that disturbing."

Damn it. He shouldn't have mentioned it. Now Nero would never stop bugging him about that.  
"Nope, not going there", Dante said.

Suddenly, Nero stopped in his tracks and Dante almost bumped into him. He heard the kid mutter: "Is it as disturbing as this?"

Dante turned his head and saw what Nero was referring to.  
Oh, no.  
Morrison?

* * *

Vergil woke up because he heard voices. He recognized one of them. It was Dante. Was he back already?

Vergil realised that he was lying on his left side, on the floor with his back to the wall and he noticed that he had a really hard time breathing.  
His mouth felt dry and he craved for water but he couldn't move.  
His upper body felt too heavy as if something was weighing him down.  
He couldn't see much in the half-light.  
The weak light bulb of the cellar did not reach all the way back to the walls. But it was enough to see that nothing was lying on top of him.  
With his right hand, he checked for any damage to his ribs and stopped in shock as he reached his stomach.  
It was protruding and painful.  
A wave of nausea hit him when he touched it.  
He swallowed what had tried to make his way out of his mouth and continued to check his upper body, but more careful this time.  
There was no damage.  
He wasn't hurt.  
It was just...his stomach was full to the brim. That was the reason why he couldn't breathe properly. His hands started to tremble.  
What has he done?  
He didn't remember anything after blacking out while this man was freeing him from his chains.

Vergil moaned as he tried to push himself up to a sitting position and immediately had to lean forward. What was inside his stomach? Stones? It certainly felt that way.  
With a lot of effort he managed to stand up but was panting as if he'd just fought thirty demons all at once. This was ridiculous.

Vergil heard Dante call his name and he slowly made his way towards the light and the column, where he could see his brother. Nero was standing next to him. Both of them looked in turn at him and at something that was lying on the floor in front of them. Vergil wanted to see for himself what had them glued to the spot with such obvious display of horror.  
And then he saw him.  
The man who freed him was lying dead on the floor.  
Or what was left of him.  
Vergil immediately felt like he was going to be sick when he realised where the missing parts of this human probably were.  
With this unwanted knowledge, his stomach felt two times heavier and Vergil dropped to his knees, retching.

* * *

This can't be happening.  
Morrison was dead? No!  
And where was Vergil?  
The chains were on the floor, even the demon leash was there but no sign of his brother.  
Damn it, he should have stuck to his plan.  
He shouldn't have listened to those two idiots.

And why did Morrison come here?  
Why did he go down here?  
And what the fuck has happened?

Dante's head was about to explode from all the things swirling through it simultaneously.  
He heard Nero whispering next to him: "Shit. Are those bite marks? He's missing an arm and pieces of his leg. Didn't you say he was just craving blood?"

The door had been closed when they had arrived and there was no blood on the stairs, maybe, just maybe they were lucky and Vergil was still down here somewhere. Because if he was outside and on a rampage...no, Dante didn't want to think about that right now.

"Vergil? Hey, Verge? Are you here? Vergil!"

"You think he's still here?" Nero asked him.

"I hope so."

"I'm sorry. You were right. We shouldn't have left him alone."

"Yeah, I love to be right but at the moment I really wish I wasn't."  
And Dante also wished that Morrison wouldn't have chosen this exact date and time to waltz into his office.

Suddenly he heard a moan.

"Vergil? Is that you? Vergil." He called again.  
He didn't dare to move away from the stairs to search for his brother, because he was afraid that he would run past them and up the stairs and vanish into thin air after all, if he was in fact still down here.  
And then, Dante heard footsteps, slow and heavy and across the room, Vergil stepped into the light.  
Oh, shit! Those were the first words that popped into Dante's mind upon seeing his brother.  
The lower half of his face was covered in dried blood, so were his hands, arms and clothes. He gave the impression of someone who had just woken up and each step seemed to be painful for him.  
When Vergil saw Morrison's shredded corpse, he fell to his knees and violently vomited.  
There was more than just blood coming up.  
At one point Dante was sure that he'd recognized half a hand.

Nero cursed and turned his back to the scene while muttering that he really didn't want to see this.  
Well, yes, it was harrowing but Dante couldn't avert his eyes.  
After all, this was his fault. He had left his brother alone. He had promised he wouldn't, he had promised he would not let him kill a single human being and now look what happened.  
He had failed.  
He couldn't be mad at Vergil for killing Morrison, because Dante was the one to blame.  
Vergil had told him more than once, that he couldn't control himself when he smelled human blood.  
No, it wasn't his brother's fault.  
And all the pain that Vergil was in now, emotionally and physically, was on him, too. Dante wanted to stab himself for not being more persistent. He should've just dragged Vergil with him to that trench.  
Damn it!

Vergil was still throwing up. It looked painful and like it wasn't going to end sometime soon. So Dante walked over and knelt down beside him. He steadied him with one hand to make sure that he wouldn't fall into the bloody mess that was coming out of him, if he passed out from exhaustion or something like that. With the other hand, he stroke Vergil's back again, slow and soothing and hoped that this might help a bit.  
His brother was sweating, trembling and Dante could hear him whimper in between.  
That sound was terrible, it tore at Dante's heart and made him feel even more guilty.

Oh, why did this have to happen?


	6. Chapter 6

The worst seemed to be over.  
He desperately hoped that it was.

Vergil was gasping for air.  
Blood and spit dripping out of his open mouth.  
His head was pounding relentlessly.  
He was glad for the hand that steadied him. Without it, he would've collapsed face-first into the half digested body parts lying between his hands. Just seeing them made him retch again.  
They had been inside him.  
Oh, god!  
He moaned but the high and pathetic sound that left his lips was closer to whimpering.

"You think you're done?"  
Dante's voice managed to cut through the fog of pain and despair that surrounded Vergil's mind.  
And only now did he notice that the hand that had been holding him in place, belonged to Dante. As well as the one that was stroking his back.  
But why?  
Why was he helping him, when he should be ripping his head off instead?  
Vergil had killed, if not a friend, then surely an acquaintance of Dante's.  
He should be mad with rage.

"Hey, Verge? You think there's gonna be more coming up?"  
Instead his brother's voice was filled with sympathy.  
Why?  
He didn't deserve that.  
"Vergil. Can you hear what I'm saying?"  
Oh, he had not really paid attention to what Dante had been asking him.  
But the last one he answered with a slow nod now.  
He couldn't trust his voice right now, not after throwing up so violently.

"I'd like to move you to your room, so you can lie down on your bed. Sounds good, right?"

It did sound good.  
He was exhausted.  
He responded with a careful nod again, his head was killing him.  
Dante helped him get to his feet but just seconds after standing upright, his vision blurred temporarily and his knees buckled.

"Woah! Easy. Nero, get over here and help me. We gotta get him to his room."

Nero?  
Vergil had completely forgotten that his son was here as well.  
Oh, no!  
He had seen the whole horrific scene, too.  
Another moan escaped his mouth.  
Dante said in a low voice: "Shhh...it's alright. We got you."  
No, Vergil though, nothing was alright.  
Nothing!

* * *

They both helped Vergil up the stairs and out of the cellar and then up another flight of stairs to get to the bedroom. It was a slow affair. More than once they had to stop and wait as Vergil doubled over, dry heaving. They were about to pass the bathroom, when Dante suddenly realised that his brother was covered in blood. Morrison's blood...no, he couldn't dwell on that now.  
He shoved that thought aside.

"Nero, let's get him into the bathtub first."  
The look the kid gave him would've made him laugh under normal circumstances. He resembled a deer caught in the headlights.  
"Relax", Dante snorted, "You can wait outside. I just need your help getting him in there. And I'll call you when I'm done."

Obviously very relieved, Nero nodded and together they managed to get Vergil into the bathtub and told him to sit down. He complied.  
"Alright, I leave you to it", Nero said and he was about to close the door behind him when Dante walked up to him and said in a low voice: "Can you get the leash and the chains from the cellar? If there is blood on them, clean them and then take them to Vergil's bedroom."

He could see that Nero didn't particularly like the thought of going down there again but nonetheless, he answered with a: "Sure" and left.  
Dante sighed.  
Well, back to the wreck in the bathtub then.

"Let's get you out of those clothes."  
Vergil's movements were slow, like he was running on autopilot or sleepwalking.  
Without Dante's help, it would've taken his brother forever to get out of those bloody clothes.  
As soon as they were removed, Dante threw them into a corner. He would trash them later. No way in hell would he wear them again. Even if he would wash them ten times or more, he'd always know that Morrison's blood had seeped into them.

Dante turned on the water, let a piece of soap fall into Vergil's lap and began to wash his brother's hair.  
His twin didn't move a muscle, he simply stared at the blood that was running down the drain in front of him.

"Come on, Verge. Work with me here. Take the soap and start cleaning your hands and arms."

Finally, he began to clean himself.  
With the speed and motor skill of a rusty robot though, but at least he did more than sit and stare.  
After he was clean again, Dante helped him get out of the tub, dried him off with a towel and then wrapped that towel around his hips.  
He called Nero and together they brought Vergil to his room, where Dante helped him get dressed in clean clothes. They were Dantes', again. He didn't mind sharing his clothes with his brother, he just hoped that these wouldn't get drenched in blood for a change.

"Did you get the chains?"  
Dante turned his head to look at Nero and the kid nodded and handed him the leash.  
When he looked back at Vergil, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, he noticed immediately that something was off.  
The empty, far away gaze was gone.  
His pupils were dilated and drool was beginning to trickle down his chin once more.  
What was going on?  
There was no human here, except for the dead body downstairs but that one was pretty much devoid of blood.

"Ehm...Verge?"  
His brother's eyes began to glow and then Dante heard someone call his name: "Dante? Hey, Dante?! I called Morrison and told him you were back. Did you guys meet? He said he'd swing by here. Helloooo?!"

Shit! Lady!  
That's why.  
His brother must've smelled her before she'd even entered the office.  
Suddenly, Vergil slapped the collar out of Dante's hand, got up, pushed him to the side and made a beeline for the door.

"Oh, no, you don't", Nero muttered while he lunged at Vergil.  
This made them both crash against the wall.

"Dante? Are you upstairs?"  
They heard Lady approaching.  
Nero's attack had bought Dante time to grab the leash and run towards them.  
The kid had Vergil pinned down to the floor with the help of his...blue wing...claw...things, whatever, Vergil couldn't move and Dante was able to get the collar around his brother's neck. He pulled at the chain a little, not too much but enough to get Vergil's attention.  
He roared and glared at him in anger as the spikes slowly sank a few millimetres into his neck.

"I know, I know. Curse me all you want, but this has to happen now", Dante said and then addressed Nero: "Let's get him to the bed and chain him up."

Those wing things were very handy.  
With the help of them, Nero was able to pin Vergil down to the mattress alone, while Dante wrapped the chains around his brother and the bed and secured them.

"What the hell are you guys doing in here? And why didn't you answer?"  
Lady asked exasperated, standing in the door.  
Dante flashed a strained smile and told her: "We were a little busy. Can you wait downstairs? I'll be there in a sec."  
She shrugged, turned around and went downstairs again.  
Dante sighed and looked down at his brother who was snarling, drooling and desperately trying to break free.  
What a mess this whole thing was!  
And now he had to go down and explain to Lady why Morrison's mauled body was lying in the cellar.  
Great!

* * *

It was incredibly loud.  
Nero sat on the floor in the corridor, leaning against the closed door to Vergil's room.  
Downstairs were Dante and Lady shouting at each other.  
Trish was there as well but she didn't raise her voice as much.  
And behind him in the bedroom, Nero could hear the loud and frustrated growls and roars of Urizen.  
But thankfully, the chains were still holding.

Nero was calling Kyrie on the new mobile phone she had given him as a present a week ago.  
He loved that thing.  
With it, he could hear her voice whenever he wanted, no matter where his job required him to be. It was awesome!  
But now, he just wanted to tell her what happened.  
He did not expect her to say: "I have an idea."  
"An idea?"  
"Yes. Maybe you should approach this differently."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, you chain him up and wait until his thirst for blood sort of ends, right?"  
"Ehm...yeah."  
"Alright. But what if this never ends? Do demons from the Underworld suddenly stop craving blood?"  
"Ah...I don't think so, no."  
"So maybe you need to try another way to help him control this."  
"You might be right. So what would you suggest?"  
"I'll tell you in person. I'll have Nico drive me, we'll be there in no time. See you soon."  
"What?! Wait! No! Kyrie!"

But Kyrie had already hung up the phone.  
Nero groaned in frustration.  
This phone call should have made him feel better, not worse.  
Now Kyrie was on her way to this horror house.  
He really didn't want her here.  
It was too dangerous.  
She could end up like Morrison...dead and partially in his father's stomach.  
Eww!  
What the hell?!  
Why did his thoughts have to go there?!  
No!  
This would not happen!  
Not in a million years!  
He would make sure of that!

* * *

Maybe he was dreaming.  
Yes, this must be it.  
A very elaborate nightmare.  
He was still asleep and the job with Nero and the death of Morrison...all of it never actually happened.  
Nero and the four women in front of him discussing his brothers' fate...not happening...he was dreaming.  
Yep.  
As simple as that.

Why his mind would come up with fucked up shit like that was beyond him, but hey, dreams were always weird, especially nightmares, right?  
He would wake up in a few minutes and laugh about it.

Someone smacked him in the face.

"Would you pay attention?! This is your brother we're talking about."

Uh, he must've zoned out.  
Lady was seething with rage.  
"You know, I would've killed him by now if he wasn't related to you. He has put me through a lot, he has put us...hell, the whole damn town through a lot and yet here we are, trying to figure out how to help him. And what are you doing?"

Dante cleared his throat but didn't know how to respond.  
Lady glared at him but when Trish put a hand on her shoulder and told her to calm down, she turned around and said: "Well I think we should try it but if Kyrie's plan doesn't work, we kill him or chuck him back into the Underworld."

"Sounds sensible", Trish said.  
Nico simply nodded and Nero looked terrified but he had looked like that ever since Kyrie had entered the house, so there was no way of telling what he thought about the whole affair.  
Although, Dante was fairly sure that he wasn't thrilled.  
His girlfriend would be in constant danger.  
But he had to admit, that woman was brave and clever.  
Her plan could work.

"So what do you think, Dante?" Trish asked and all eyes were on him now.

Ah, to hell with it!  
What choice did he have?

"Sure, let's try this. But on one condition; either Nero or I will always be in the room with you. You are not allowed to be alone with him. Got it?" Kyrie nodded.  
Nero looked at Dante, mouthed the word 'thanks' and finally relaxed a bit.

"Alright, then let's get the party started", Dante said with as much fake enthusiasm as he could muster.  
He might have agreed to Kyrie's plan, yes, but that didn't mean that he was a fan of it.


	7. Chapter 7

Inside his head Vergil was screaming at the top of his lungs.

The craving, the burning need, the absolute necessity of the blood that was just a few steps away from him was maddening and physically painful.

So close and yet unreachable.

Why?!

Why did they torture him like this?!

Were they punishing him for killing that man?

His demon-side was going crazy.

The sweet metallic smell, constantly in his nose, the sound of the heartbeat amplified tenfold and reverberating inside his skull.

Drool was constantly running out of the corners of his mouth.

His neck was wet with it and the mattress around his head was already soaked as well.

He couldn't stand this!

He wanted that blood!

But he didn't!

But he did!

No, he didn't!

This was his son's girlfriend. He would not harm her. Never!

But her blood smelled so delicious!

Aaargh!

How could he want something so badly and at the same time be disgusted by the mere thought of it?!

This was ripping his mind apart!

Vergil wanted to cry, to sob, to plead for help, for mercy, for anything, anything but this. He wanted to beg his brother to hug him, to hide him, to make everything better, to take him far away from her, from any human being...he just wanted to dissolve. No, he wanted to get these chains off of him and then grab that girl and drink her dry until her heart would finally SHUT THE HELL UP!

Vergil screamed again, he screamed and screamed and screamed, but it stayed inside his head. Unheard, unseen.

* * *

Dante stifled a yawn.

He had been playing the watchdog for about five hours now and there was still no change in Vergil.

He was in his human form but eyes glowing blue and drool soaking the mattress beneath him. There was no doubt that Urizen was in the driver seat. Had been ever since Kyrie had entered the bedroom. The incessant growling and snarling was almost like background noise now. Of course Urizen had tried to break free more than once and with all his strength, but fortunately, the chains were sturdy enough. Dante hasn't had to use the leash yet.

Kyrie was sitting in a comfortable chair next to the bed, reading a book.

Sometimes she would look up at Dante or Vergil, or both and smile reassuringly.

And yeah, this was her whole plan.

Being in the same room as Vergil, all the time.

This way, he had no choice. He had to learn to get used to humans. And according to Kyrie, he would. Eventually. It was unclear how long it would take but she was certain that it was better than waiting until Vergil's need for blood would go away. Because she considered that it would never go away. And even though Dante felt pretty stupid that a human had to point out to him that the demons he hunted (e.g. Empusas), had all been lusting for human blood, no matter how long they had spent separated from humans, he had to admit that she was probably right.

Of course, his brother was nothing like an Empusa (after all, they were vermin and serving the demon tree) but the reasoning behind this plan was sound. And it was not like they had any better ideas. Shame that it was just such an unbelievable boring plan.

Dante yawned again.

He couldn't wait to change the shift with Nero, he was about to nod off.

"Dante?"

"What? I wasn't asleep", Dante hastened to say.

Kyrie chuckled: "I know, but look, something's changed."

She pointed to Vergil and Dante new immediately what she meant.

The drooling had stopped, his eyes were not glowing anymore, he was silent and lying still.

Could the whole thing be over already?

Nahh...right?

That would be wishful thinking.

Dante got closer and his brother said: "I know you. Your name is Dante."

Oh...definitely not his brother.

"Tell me, what is going on?" This monotonous voice was unmistakably Nelo Angelo's. "Where am I?"

Kyrie frowned, obviously confused about 'Vergil' asking this, but she kept quiet.

Dante cleared his throat: "Well, you are in my house, in Vergil's bed. You are chained to it, to be precise. Vergil killed one of my friends but the whole thing was my fault. I left him alone. I won't make that mistake twice. So now we are trying to help Vergil. He needs to learn to control the urges of his demon-side."

"I see."

Dante couldn't read him. Nelo Angelo wasn't as confused as he had been yesterday. He seemed to have understood that Mundus was no longer his master. And without the confusion, there was just stoic indifference.

"Why are you here?", Dante asked him.

"Vergil is in pain. I exist to protect him, to endure what he cannot. That is why I am here now. But something seems to be wrong."

"How so?"

"I cannot see any weapons in your hands. In fact, there is nothing here that indicates that you are torturing Vergil. Is that the truth?"

"Torturing? No, we are not torturing my brother. Well, maybe from his point of view it would be sort of like torture but I assure you we haven't touched a single hair on his body."

"Mh..odd. Then why is he screaming, crying and begging for help?" Nelo Angelo closed his eyes for five seconds and then added: "Even now. That is bewildering me. How can I take away his pain when it is not coming from outside? His suffering should've stopped the minute I took over his body. Why isn't this working?"

There was no concern, only something that could be described as scientific curiosity.

"I am not an expert or anything, but I guess it's because he is at war with himself. His demonic side wants human blood and his human side doesn't. And by the way, that over there is Kyrie. She is human. We think that if she stays in the same room with Vergil for long enough, he might find a way to control his addiction."

"I understand. Me being here is of no use then. I can save Vergil from external torture, be it of physical or mental nature but I cannot protect him from something he is inflicting upon himself. I will leave now."

Kyrie chimed in: "Wait, please. Can you tell me how Vergil's feeling? Is this too much for him? Do we have to stop?"

"I do not know the answers to those questions."

"Can you make Vergil answer them?", Kyrie asked.

"I do not understand. Hasn't he been here, before I took over?"

"Well, yes, but only his demon-side and that part of him hates our guts at the moment", Dante grinned and added: "Can't you hold Urizen...I mean, his demon side back and buy us some time to talk to Vergil's human side?"

"I'll see what I can do", Nelo Angelo stated and closed his eyes.

"Who was that?" Kyrie whispered.

"His name is Nelo Angelo. I thought that Mundus has created him, but now I am not so sure anymore. Maybe Vergil's mind has made him, in order to survive Mundus' torture. It doesn't really matter though, Mundus is to blame either way."

Kyrie nodded and was about to say something, when they both heard a gasp.

* * *

Vergil gasped as he opened his eyes.

How was this possible?

Nelo Angelo was somehow blocking his demon side.

How the hell was he doing that?

This was scary. He felt incomplete and feeble, but also capable of forming a coherent thought without the blinding craving for blood and the anger.

Urizen...no, his demon-side was furious, because he had thrown up all the delicious blood and meat. He called him weak and a nuisance. He was also furious because Dante dared to taunt him with this human girl, having her sit right next to Vergil's bed...the insolence!

But now, all this was somehow in the back of his mind. A raging storm far away, held back by Nelo Angelo.

"Dante?"

"Hey Verge", his brother said, squeezing Vergil's shoulder, "How are you holding up?"

I am breaking apart. I can't stand the pain. It is too much. I want to die. Take me far away from this place, from this human, from all the humans. Give me the Yamato back and let me return to the Underworld. I will never learn to control my demon-side... the need for blood. I am too weak. Let me go, Dante, let me fall.

The concerned voice of Kyrie put a stop to his mental babbling.

"Vergil? Are you alright?"

He took a deep breath, clenched his fists and said: "I...am fine."

Dante shrugged his shoulders: "Ah, well, we just talked to your pal Nelo Angelo and he says you're not."

Nelo Angelo had been outside again?

What was going on?

"You know, if this is...ehm...you know...", Dante was looking for words but didn't seem to find the right ones, so Kyrie decided to chime in: "We can take a break, if you want to. I can leave the house for a bit."

Oh, yes, yes, please leave the house, please go away, as far away as possible.

"This would be contradictory to your plan. Why would you suggest such a thing?"

The door flew open and Nero barged in.

* * *

They had agreed to change the shift after five hours. So here he was.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Vergil. With an inquiring look on his face, he turned to Dante, then to Kyrie and pointing at his father, he said: "Huh, no growling and drooling. Did it already work?"

It couldn't have, right?

It's only been about five hours.

Then again, he knew nothing about human blood addiction...so...

"Nah", Dante cleared it up, "It's just some sort of time-out. I'll explain it later. Now back to you, brother. We just want to make sure that you're not going wacko in that mind of yours. Or at least not more than you already are."

Nero saw the look Kyrie threw at Dante and he was glad that he wasn't at the receiving side this time. That look could make you feel really ashamed of yourself, it was brutal and Dante immediately stopped grinning. What a rare sight; Dante being self-conscious. Now this made Nero grin.

As he walked over to sit on a chair next to Kyrie, he heard her say: "Nelo Angelo told us that you are in pain, that you are begging for help. If this is too much, then we can..."

"I do not beg", Vergil cut her off gruffly.

"She is trying to be considerate, asshole", Nero growled.

"I didn't ask her to be."

Before Nero could respond to that stupid statement, Kyrie briefly touched his arm and told him to calm down.

Oh, nice. Two minutes next to this guy and he was already close to punching him in the face.

"Well if you are fine with it, we'll continue this little experiment", Dante said.

Suddenly, Vergil's eyes widened and he began to breathe heavily.

He muttered the words: "No, no, no, I don't want to go" over and over again, while staring at the ceiling.

Dante mumbled: "Seems like Urizen is on his way back."

Urizen had been away?

But where did he go?

And if he was away, wouldn't then the person in front of him be V?

But V wouldn't be this stuck up. Maybe he was now a side of Vergil and not separate like before. Woven into his personality. But his demonic side was a separate thing too, right?

Man, this was way too complicated to figure out now! He would just try something. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't.

Nero leaned closer, grabbed Vergil's hand and squeezed it a little.

"Hey, V, if you can hear me, I want you to know that I am here. We're a team, alright? I'll beat Urizen's ass out here and you'll do the same inside Vergil's head. You got this. You're strong."

Nero noticed that Dante threw him a look that said 'have you lost your mind?' but he couldn't care less because V appeared.

Well, of course not in person, but Vergil's eyes had changed and his face seemed softer, too. Even his voice was much more like V's now: "He says I'm weak."

"Who?, " Nero asked.

"Urizen."

"Don't listen to him. You are the strongest human I know. You were literally falling to pieces but you kept going. Your strength comes from your mind and there is no doubt that you got more brains than Urizen. You'll beat him, I'm sure of it."

Nero felt V squeeze his hand and he saw a smile ghost across his lips as he said: "Thank you, Nero."

And in the blink of an eye he was gone.

Replaced by the growling and drooling menace that was Urizen. Nero drew back and fortunately managed to safe his hand in time.

Kyrie gave him a kiss on the cheek and then looked at him with so much warmth and kindness that Nero almost blushed.

He heard Dante clear his throat and say: "Alright then, I'm gonna go catch some z's. Be back in five hours. You two kids behave."

"Sure, old man. Don't die in your sleep", Nero retorted.


	8. Chapter 8

The first change came after two days.  
Urizen stopped trying to break free and reach Kyrie.  
The growling and drooling ceased as well.  
Vergil's eyes weren't glowing anymore, they were closed now.  
He appeared to be asleep but it wasn't the nice, restorative kind, more like the fitful sleep humans had when they were lost in a fever dream. Vergil even looked like he had a fever. His face was ashen and covered in cold sweat. He was shivering, tossing and turning but never once opened his eyes or said a word.  
Even on the fourth day, when Dante removed the chains and lifted him up, so that Nero could change the sheets on the bed, there was no reaction.

Kyrie was taking a shower in the meantime and Dante assumed that she was probably glad to leave this room for a while. How she was able to spend four days...and the nights, too...in the same room and not get stir-crazy, was a mystery to Dante. He only had to sit in here for five hours at a time and even that felt way too long.

"Urgh. It's a miracle that he hasn't died of dehydration yet", Nero said, "these sheets are soaked. I'm glad he stopped with the drooling. It's freaking disgusting. I can deal with sweat, but drool...urgh."  
"Amen to that", was Dante's response but he wasn't really sure if he liked the new situation. At least with Urizen growling, drooling and glaring at them, it had been clear what his brother's thoughts had been: Blood. Kyrie's blood, to be precise. But now...It was as if Vergil had shut the door on them. He had retreated into his own head and by the looks of things, there was a storm raging in there.  
Dante hated it. He wished he could open his brother's head up, jump inside and help him fight this battle. Being this helpless was frustrating and also quite boring.  
And V! Dante still couldn't believe that Nero had been able to coax him out and actually talk to him a few days ago. He still existed, just like Urizen. Whatever Vergil thought, he was not the same anymore. His soul was shattered, split...

"Done. You can put him down now."  
Already?  
That kid was really good at this sort of thing. Dante couldn't remember the last time he had changed bed sheets. So much had been going on lately. Now there was Vergil's problem to deal with, before that, he had been in the Underworld and before that, there had been this business with the Qliphoth and before that, there had been no water due to the lack of cash flow and you know...ehm...maybe he should put washing his bed sheets on his to-do list.

Dante laid his brother down on the bed and almost jumped out of his skin when Vergil suddenly said in a very distinct voice: "Shut up."

* * *

Vergil was sitting on the floor in a windowless, empty and sterile room. He loved that room. It was his favourite place inside his mind. No one could reach him there, no one could touch him, hurt him, no one.  
This was where he had spent most of the time while being tortured by Mundus.

But now...it was too loud, too many voices...how did they get in here?  
Vergil was covering his ears with his hands, but it was no use, he could still hear them talk. Urizen and V.  
And yes, he was referring to them as Urizen and V now, because, curse him, but Dante had been right, they were still very much their own personalities...and just wouldn't shut up.

Both of them wanted him to do what they thought was right.  
Urizen wanted Vergil to go back to the 'good old days'. The time before the Qliphoth, before Mundus, when it just had been Vergil and Urizen. V had been locked up somewhere in the dark depths of Vergil's mind.  
Why not throw him down there again?  
It had been such a clear and calm time. No complicated emotions, nothing holding them back, no questions, no regrets. It could be like that again. The only thing Vergil had to do, was shoving V back into his cell, where he belonged. Clean and easy.  
It was sooo tempting to give in to that. The prospect of having his cold, calm and controlled mind back.  
No confusing emotions...

"Don't listen to that", V said, "and I am not saying this because I don't want to go back to my cell again. I don't care what you'll do to me. Put me back there if you must but what do you think will happen, if you listen to Urizen? It can never be like 'the good old days' as he puts it. He is far too dominant, far too bloodthirsty now. You will be like me; cast aside and forced to watch. He'll make you believe you're in charge for a few days, as long as it takes to convince Dante to free you, but then he will slaughter all the humans he can get his hands on. Don't listen to him, Vergil. I don't want you to lose your brother again...and...your son."

Dante...Nero...

"But...what am I supposed to do then?!" Vergil screamed at V.

"Nero believes in you, in your human-side. You and I, we are strong together. We can keep Urizen from drinking human blood. You are in control. And I will help you with everything I've got, I promise you."

Vergil shook his head. "This is too vague. There's no guarantee that it'll work. How am I even supposed to hold him back? Every time he smells blood, he takes over."

"We'll shove him back, together. We won't let him take over your body."

"But how?"

"Well...you've done it with me", V said bitter, "I am sure you'll remember how you did it."

"But you're not..."

V snorted: "Yeah, I know... I'm not him. I'm not strong. Right?"

That was when Urizen decided to speak again: "Did you hear that, Vergil? He knows that you don't believe in his so called strength. You never have and you never will. You don't need him. Your human side is nothing but a burden, a distraction, a hindrance. It'll only make you doubt yourself, make you dwell on the past. You don't need that. You don't deserve that. Banish him again and all the fear currently crippling you, will melt away. You and I, we are afraid of nothing and no one."

No fear...yes. He...he wanted that.

He heard V's voice again.  
It was gentler: "But think about that feeling for a minute. What are you afraid of? I can tell you exactly what it is, because I too dread it; Being alone, lost and unloved. But it doesn't have to be like that anymore. You have found your way back to your brother and even after everything that has happened, he still wants you to stay. And Nero. He is your son, Vergil. This is your family. It's small, but it's yours. You have a family again."

Vergil could hear the joy in V's voice and it made him almost smile.  
Family, yes. He had a family.

V continued: "You see, fear is not a bad feeling. It warns you. It tells you that Urizen's path is dangerous. You will lose your family. Urizen has already killed one of Dante's friends...what if he kills another? You can't let that happen, Vergil. We can't. And we won't."

"But how? Tell me how?!" The desperation that flooded through Vergil, made him sound whiny and he hated it.

Urizen laughed: "Haha...can't you see it? This weak human doesn't know what to do. He is all talk, he has no clue how to fight me. Banish him. Throw him back into his cell, where he belongs."

It went on and on like this, for hours, maybe days. Vergil couldn't tell. He tried to ignore them. He tried to somehow shut their voices out but just like covering his ears with his hands had been futile, nothing worked.  
Both of them had valid points.  
Of course Vergil knew he couldn't trust Urizen but V had no real plan or idea as to how they could fight the demon.  
And banishing Urizen?  
Was this really what Vergil wanted?  
His demon side gone, locked up?  
No. Vergil was more demon than human.  
But he wanted to be more human, right? To be able to live here, with his brother and Nero?  
But he couldn't live without his demon side, it defined him, it...

Oh, he couldn't think. It was too loud.  
All this bickering...both Urizen and V wanted him to pick a side...but all of their words didn't really help him decide, they made things worse.  
hey were just repeating themselves over and over again until Vergil couldn't take it anymore.  
He needed silence. Now.  
And with all the frustration that had been building up inside of him for the past hours? days?, he screamed: "Shut up!"


	9. Chapter 9

Dante made a step back, raised one eyebrow and looked at Nero.

"I wasn't talking, was I?"

Did he say the whole thing with the bed sheets out loud?

Please say no, please say no.

And ohhh...yess.

Nero shook his head.

What a relief.

That would've been freaking embarrassing. There were things his nephew didn't need to know.

"I take it he didn't mean us then, right?"

"Nah. He's probably dreaming, or something", Nero said, shrugging his shoulders.

More like 'or something', Dante thought and cursed inwardly for what felt like the hundredth time. This felt so...wrong.

It was obvious that his brother was struggling and Dante was afraid of losing him to whatever was going on inside that head of his.

"Come on, let's chain him up again", Nero said and he was right.

Kyrie would probably come back soon. They had to get a move on.

They were about to put the first chain back in place, when Vergil suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

Dante cursed, but this time out loud and Nero dropped the chain, muttering: "What the...?"

"Dante. I need your help."

Uhhh...Nelo Angelo again.

Dante didn't particularly enjoy his little visits.

His voice gave him the creeps but at least his brother was responsive again...or...ehm...one part/person of him anyway.

"Well, hello there. How are things in my brother's head?"

"Not good. I recall telling you that I cannot help Vergil but I observed and listened and I might have found a way to help him after all."

Dante only noticed that Nero had walked over to him, when he heard him whisper: "Who the hell is this?"

Dante sighed.

Poor kid, his father was a nut-job.

It must be hard for him to deal with this shit.

You find out that the guy who ripped your arm off and raised a demon tree, is your father and if that wasn't enough to digest, he starts eating humans and is sort of four different personalities or beings or whatever...I mean...that must suck! All things considered, it was surprising that Nero was still here, helping.

"His name is Nelo Angelo. I'll explain the rest later", Dante whispered back, then turned to Nelo Angelo again: "That's great. So why do you need my help then?"

"Vergil currently resides in a place I cannot reach and although I can hear him, he cannot hear me in there. I need you to get him out, so that I can talk to him."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"The first time I took Vergil's body over, when he had been in this house, I was quite confused and you came up to me and did something with your arms. I don't know what it was, but it immediately drew him out and we switched places. If you could do that again, I am sure it will work a second time."

A hug then?

Dante couldn't decide if he should feel sad or amused about the fact that this poor fellow had no clue what a hug was. But sure, he could do that but maybe not with Nero watching though. Not that he had a problem with that, not at all, but he had to consider Vergil's feelings, too. He probably wouldn't like to be seen hugging someone, right? It wasn't because Dante felt weird doing that in front of Nero, nooo, of course not.

"Alright. I can do that. Ehm...Nero, can you go outside and guard the door, maybe tell Kyrie what's going on, yeah?"

"Do you wanna get rid of me?"

"Nooo", meh...that 'no' didn't even convince Dante.

Nero snorted: "Sure. Fine. I'll do it. But you better explain the whole fucking thing to me later, old man."

Dante smiled and nodded, relieved that Nero had agreed to it so quickly.

* * *

They had been silent, but only for a few minutes. It hadn't been enough to actually collect his own thoughts.

Fear, desire, opinions, reasons, ideas, doubt, anger, pain, want, frustration...What was his? What was theirs? Vergil didn't know.

He felt and thought so many things and couldn't tell if he was the originator or not.

He needed a new room, where he could hide from V and Urizen.

Maybe he could retreat further back?

Maybe there in the darkness was silence?

Those two were still bickering.

Maybe he could slip away unnoticed?

Suddenly an unfamiliar warmth spread through him.

Urizen growled angrily but V closed his eyes and sighed, content.

Vergil felt...better...somehow safe and secure but he didn't know why.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the welcome silence and then he noticed the scent...he knew that scent...Dante.

With a gasp, he opened his eyes and saw grey fabric and felt strong arms holding him.

Dante was lying next to him in the bed, hugging him.

Vergil's nose was almost touching Dante's shoulder and he stared at the grey fabric of Dante's shirt, unsure what to do or say.

Why was his brother holding him like this?

Where were the chains?

Where was the girl?

Had something happened to her?

But before he could even voice any of those questions, he heard someone say: "Vergil? Listen to me. I know how you can resume control. Follow my voice and I'll show you."

This was Nelo Angelo.

Vergil knew he could trust him, he was there to protect him but they had never seen each other before.

How was this possible?

"Vergil, please. I can't hold them off for are not supposed to hear this."

Oh, that was the reason for this blissful silence then, Vergil thought and decided to find out what Nelo Angelo had to tell him.

* * *

Dante waited. Nothing happened.

For a second he had the feeling that Vergil was conscious and back in his body but that moment had passed by so quickly, that Dante wasn't even sure it had happened at all.

So he continued with the waiting, hugging his brother's seemingly uninhabited body.

Of course he knew that Vergil was in there but with no one in the driver seat, it felt freaking eerie.

A part of Dante was thinking about all the hilarious things he could do with his brother, whilst he was in this state.

Dying his hair red maybe, or even shaving it off.

Taking funny pictures with that new device Nero had...hehehe...oh yes, and then blackmail Vergil.

But of course another part of him knew exactly that he would do no such thing.

This was serious.

His brother's sanity was on the line and if he wasn't able to take back control, he would probably have to go back to the Underworld and that meant Dante would lose him. Again. That was not acceptable. They had already lost so many years...it might have been childish to think like that but Dante wanted his brother by his side.

He would never ever admit it, but he needed him.

Being this close to him right now, holding him in his arms was the most incredible feeling. Like a part of his soul, that he hadn't even noticed had been missing, was back in its rightful place.

In this moment, Dante realised how lonely he had felt without his brother.

He wished he could stay like this for days on end, simply holding Vergil, burying his face into his brother's hair, breathing in his scent, pretending to be a little boy again...

Ah well, he would just enjoy the time he was given now, until Vergil (or whoever would emerge) would come to and smack him in the face or something along those lines.

* * *

"I tell you, they are cuddling."

"Nero, stop peeking through the keyhole. It's impolite."

"But I want to know what's going on."

"I'm sure Dante will tell you everything."

"Yeah, right. Just like he told me about Nelo Angelo. Even you didn't tell me that this dude exists."

"I thought you knew about him."

Nero knew that he was behaving like a child but he just couldn't shake the feeling of being left out. He was jealous that Kyrie had known about Nelo Angelo before he had and he was angry at Dante for telling him to go wait outside. If Nero hadn't been this confused about the appearance of Nelo Angelo, he would've protested more.

What the hell was going on in his fath...Vergil's head?

With this Nelo dude, there were four people in there.

Was that it?

Or was there another person Nero didn't know of?

This whole affair was getting weirder by the day.

"Uh, I think Vergil's awake. They seem to be talking."

"Nero, let them have some privacy", Kyrie said.

"They have privacy. I am out here, aren't I? And I can't hear what they're saying anyway, so it's fine."

Nero didn't even have to turn around to know that Kyrie was rolling her eyes.

The next thing he said made him feel a bit better, even though it was an obvious excuse for spying on Dante and Vergil: "And besides, what if Urizen decides to run towards the door to get to you? This way I can see him coming."

Kyrie chuckled: "Yes, that's very clever of you Nero."

Dante got out of the bed and tried to help Vergil sit up but his hand got slapped away by the older twin, who looked furious.

Dante held both hands up and made a step backwards, saying something Nero couldn't hear and then sat down on his chair next to the bed.

Even though Vergil tried to conceal it, it was obviously a struggle for him to sit up on his own. He managed in the end and was now leaning with his back against some pillows, exhausted. Dante hadn't said a thing, he'd simply picked the end of the leash up from the floor. Vergil was still wearing the collar, but the leash wasn't attached to the bed anymore, because they had to take it off to change the bed sheets earlier.

"Hey, Nero. Come back in here."

Nero didn't expect Dante to shout all of a sudden. It startled him and he hit his head on the door handle.

Luckily, he was able to stifle the yelp that had threatened to leave his throat but the bang couldn't have gone unnoticed.

Slightly shocked, he turned around to look at Kyrie.

She was covering her mouth with one hand, trying hard not to giggle and then motioned to him to enter Vergil's room.

Well...he had no choice.

* * *

"I can see you are over-thinking this, Nero."

"You're damn right I am. This is so fucked up."

He and Kyrie were standing in Dante's kitchen, preparing dinner, something that wasn't pizza for a change.

Vergil hadn't had any kind of food for four days (after throwing up Morrison-body parts...urgh...) and Kyrie had said that he needed something to get his strength back. It had to be easily digestible and she had decided to make rice and vegetables. The food was almost ready now and Nero was setting the table.

"I mean, how can he be fine? Just like that? A hug from Dante and everything is alright? I don't buy it. He is playing us."

"But Vergil told us that Nelo Angelo has shown him a way to control Urizen and that it works. And you saw it too, I was standing next to the bed and nothing happened. He wasn't even drooling."

"He could've been faking this."

"And for two days he just chose to be chained to the bed and drool all over himself? I doubt it. Besides, Dante is being careful, he said that the collar will stay on until he is certain that Vergil is truly in control. So, relax, Nero."

"You haven't seen Morrison, Kyrie. If Vergil loses his shit..."

Kyrie put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him from finishing his sentence: "He is not going to, alright. Dante will make sure of that. He won't leave him out of his sight this time."

Nero nodded.

Kyrie was right of course but he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something amiss.

He would've been less worried about the whole thing, if Kyrie wasn't adamant on staying here.

With Vergil no longer chained to the bed, she was the only one in danger and Nero absolutely hated that.


	10. Chapter 10

Tense.

That's how Dante would describe the affair that had been dinner.

To be honest, he wasn't fully convinced either.

Just a talk with Nelo Angelo and Vergil was in control again?

Seemed a little bit too good to be true.

But then again, it was Vergil they were talking about. Vergil, who had split himself in two with a sword once...concerning him, anything could be possible, right?

Dante really hoped that it had worked, that his brother was back in the driver seat for good.

Nero was obviously sceptical, too though. During dinner, he kept glancing at Vergil with a mixture of distrust and worry.

And no one could really think of a topic to talk about. So apart from Kyrie's attempts at small talk (which failed spectacularly), there was mostly awkward silence. Even Dante, who usually had no problem to keep a conversation going, had been too tired to make an effort. And of course Vergil was his usual chatty self, so awkward silence it was.

It was good to see that his brother was eating a plate full of vegetables and rice, very slow though, but he finished it.

Dante had realised that his brother hadn't had any kind of human food since they had come back from the Underworld. No wonder he was in such a feeble state. Of course, Vergil was denying it, but honestly, anyone with eyes could see that he lacked strength.

After dinner, Kyrie and Nero were doing the dishes, while Dante and Vergil went back to Vergil's bedroom. They would spend the night there and Dante had told Kyrie and Nero, that they could sleep in his room.

Of course, he advised them to change the bed sheets first. He wasn't a monster. Hehehe...And that way, they would do the work for him. Nice!

On their way back to the bedroom, Vergil stumbled once or twice but every time Dante wanted to help him, he snarled at him like some kind of feral animal. His brother was infuriatingly stubborn in this regard. Dante swore that he wouldn't put up with this for too long. He would simply force Vergil to accept help, whether he wanted it or not. But for now, he just sighed and rolled his eyes at his brother's misplaced pride.

* * *

Vergil tried to hide how relieved he was to be back in bed.

Dinner had been exhausting. And he didn't mean the awkward silence and the stares, no, it had been the way to the kitchen and back that had drained his last reserves of energy.

As well as the simple task of eating food.

He couldn't quite understand why this had required him to concentrate so hard.

But he had to say, Nelo Angelo's idea was brilliant. It worked amazingly well. Not once had he felt Urizen's desire to drink the girl's blood and she had been very close when she had taken his empty plate away but nothing, not even a flicker of need, not even a drop of drool. Incredible. The mind could be quite powerful, if one knew the right tricks, it seemed.

As long as Urizen wasn't a threat to others, V was content with the situation. He would comment on some things Vergil did or said but other than that, he was quiet now. Urizen however...since Vergil had followed Nelo Angelo's instructions, he hadn't heard a word from the demon. He either was still shocked, or affronted, maybe even both but whatever it was, it didn't matter. There was no blinding desire for human blood and there was silence in his mind and that was all Vergil wanted.

He just had to get his strength back and then everything would be back to normal.

Dante was lying next to him in bed, snoring already.

The leash was once again wrapped around the bedpost on Dante's side but there were no chains holding Vergil down. He was grateful for that. But even though he could choose his sleeping position now, his mind refused to shut down and let him sleep.

How did Dante fall asleep so fast?

Why couldn't he follow suit?

His demon side didn't really require sleep and well...he had never cared for the things his human side needed. Until now, that was.

Apparently, V wanted to sleep.

He had also been very thankful for the food and a strange warm feeling had been radiating from V during dinner. Vergil had requested an explanation because this feeling was entirely foreign to him. V had smiled: "This was our first real family dinner. It's been years since we had that. I was happy."

Vergil didn't understand the sentiment.

What was so special about eating food with ones kin?

Instead of pondering about things he wouldn't get to the bottom of anyway, he'd rather focus on falling asleep.

He had slept in this house before. On the first night here. How did he do that back then?

* * *

Dante heard the rustling of clothes and clinking of chains and his tired mind told him 'ah, Vergil is just turning in his sleep, no need to worry'.

He drifted to a deeper sleep again but not for long.

The sounds came back but this time, he could hear footsteps and mumbling as well.

Oh for the love of...! Did he really have to open his eyes and check?

Couldn't he pretend that he didn't hear anything? No. Of course not. He had to do the sensible thing here. Urizen might still be out for human blood.

Alright then. Dante sighed and got up.

Good, the chain was still attached to the bed.

Not so good, Vergil wasn't in the bed.

His eyes followed the leash through the darkness and there he was, cowering in a corner of the room.

Cowering?

Vergil?

Something was definitely wrong.

"Hey Verge, what are you doing there? Go back to sleep."

He heard a chocked sob.

Uh, oh, what was going on?

Dante slowly walked towards his brother and knelt down in front of him. He saw now that he was trembling like a leaf and tears ran down his cheeks.

"Woah, hey, what's wrong?"

A voice unlike Vergil's came out of his brother's mouth: "I don't feel so good."

Dante's mind needed a moment until it registered that this was V in front of him.

Great. Now what?

"Hey V. Why are you here?"

There was a mumbled 'I don't know' and more sobs that he tried to hold back in vain.

Dante wasn't really good at talking to this guy. He didn't know why, his mind just seemed to be devoid of words in his presence and that made it pretty awkward.

Ah, screw this! He would get Nero.

* * *

Seriously?!

It was the middle of the night.

Why was Dante banging at the door, calling for him?

Nero moaned, got up and trudged to the door, opened it and said: "What is wrong with you?!"

Dante grinned: "Oh, lots of things but I'm not here because of me. V is...ehm...out and he doesn't feel so great. Could you maybe...ah...come and talk to him?"

V?

Nero was wide awake now.

" 'Course", he muttered and followed Dante to the other bedroom.

Kyrie had woken up as well. No surprise there, they had been rather loud. She quietly joined them.

Dante switched the lights on and Nero's eyes grew wide.

'Doesn't feel so great' had been an understatement.

V looked absolutely miserable. Pale as a sheet, drenched in sweat and trembling so hard they could hear his teeth chatter.

When V noticed Nero he said: "Nero. Please, help me. I think I'm going to die."

Nero knelt down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, alright. You're not gonna die."

At least Nero hoped he wouldn't.

He had no clue what was happening.

Maybe he was injured?

"Are you in pain? Are you hurt?"

"Yes, no, it's...my stomach hurts...and I'm cold. I'm sooo cold. What if I'm dying, Nero? Please, don't let me die?"

To Nero's surprise, Kyrie suddenly left the room without a word. He heard her rummage around somewhere down the corridor and when she returned, she carried a plastic bucket with her.

V was slightly rocking himself back and forth, still muttering about his imminent death, when Kyrie put the basket in front of him on the floor. As if on cue, V threw up into it.

Nero was baffled.

How the hell did Kyrie know that V was gonna throw up?!

And where the freaking fuck did she find that bucket?!

Nero didn't even know Dante owned mundane stuff like that. He hadn't even enough cutlery, let alone matching dinner plates but he had a bucket and apparently, Kyrie knew about it.

Well, whatever...it wasn't exactly the right moment to solve that riddle, was it?

Slowly, Nero began to rub V's back in circular motion and said in a low voice: "It's alright. You are not alone and I won't let you die. I will protect you, V. You are safe. You are just sick right now, it feels horrible, I know, but it will pass."

It was pretty strange. Even though V and Vergil shared a body, the way V was throwing up now couldn't be any more different than when Vergil had to a few days ago, down in the cellar.

V was obviously embarrassed, trying to hide it by turning around to face the wall and muttering 'I'm sorry,' over and over again, even though Nero assured him that it was nothing to be ashamed of, that it was normal and that he shouldn't fight it.

When it was over, V all but collapsed into Nero's arms, breathing heavily. He wrapped his arms around Nero's waist and leaned his head against the young man's chest, mumbling: "Don't leave me alone."

"I won't. I promise." Nero leaned back against the wall behind him and looked up in surprise, when Kyrie covered them both with a blanket. She said: "I'm going to rinse the bucket, but I'll bring it back, just in case. Do you want some water to drink, V?"

There was a weak 'yes, thank you' from V and Kyrie nodded.

Nero felt a smile creep onto his face and he sighed, while he watched his girlfriend leave the room. Kyrie was the best! He loved that woman with all his heart.

"Aww...you're adorable, Nero. I can almost see hearts in your eyes", Dante chuckled.

"Shut up."

A moan drew both of their attention back to V.

"What is it? Are you gonna be sick again?", Nero asked and hoped that the answer would be no, because Kyrie wasn't back yet.

"It's Urizen", V said. Nero tensed immediately. "Is he coming?"

"No. Urizen is laughing at me right now. He did this to me. He says that if we deny him human blood, I am not allowed sustenance either. He will see to it, that I won't be able to keep any kind of food down."

"He can do that?"

"I'm afraid so."

Nero frowned and inquired: "How?"

"Our minds are separate but we share this body. In his own mind, he can decide and do things without me ever knowing it. Much like your subconsciousness. So I guess we can affect this body with our thinking, even if we are not 'in the front'."

"But I thought, Vergil had Urizen under control now", Dante stated, sitting down on the bed and stifling a yawn.

"Yes, that is true. Urizen is no longer able to take this body over whenever he wants to but he is not a prisoner, he is not banished, the way I have been for many years. He can affect this body, he can talk to us, he can see what's going on outside if he so chooses."

"But you can do those things, too. And unlike him, you can take this body over, right?" Nero felt a bit woozy to be honest. It was hard to understand this.

"Yes, that is true. However, I have no power inside this head of ours. I am the weakest of them. They just tolerate me. To them I am...useless." The last word was barely audible and Nero felt more than he heard, that V started to cry again.

"Woah, hey, V, don't let them drag you down. Urizen is an asshole. And if the other two make you feel like crap, too...well, fuck them! I like you the most and I am glad that you still exist in this body", Nero said as he wrapped his arms around V.

He absolutely hated to see him like this.

Oh, how he wished he could climb into Vergil's head right now and beat the shit out of those fuckers. How dare they make V feel like he was useless?!

Kyrie returned with the bucket and a glass of water. She put them both down on the floor, where V could reach for them easily and went to sit next to Dante on the bed. Nero heard how she quietly asked Dante if something has happened while she was gone and Dante told her about Urizen's plan to starve V, to get what he wanted. Kyrie was concerned and said that this was more complex than she'd thought. She asked Dante if he had an idea how they could help V but the devil hunter shook his head.

"I can't think. I'm way too tired", he said and yawned again, "let's go back to bed. I need my beauty sleep."

Nero scoffed and whispered to V: "A few hours of sleep won't be enough to make _him_ pretty."

This made V smile a bit and Nero could feel him calm down gradually as well. His breathing slowed down and he wasn't shivering as much as he had a few minutes ago.

"I heard that, Nero. You hurt my feelings", Dante said with feigned indignation and then turned to Kyrie: "Seriously, what do you see in him? He's so rude. Does he say things like this to you, too?"

Kyrie shook her head and chuckled.

"I see, so he's just rude to me then. Well, I don't care what pretty boy here thinks, I'm going back to sleep."

Suddenly, V pressed the side of his face to Nero's chest, hugging him tighter, almost desperately so and muttering under his breath: "Don't leave me. Please."

"You won't be alone, V. Dante will be right next to you, in the same bed", Nero said in a low voice.

The reaction he got surprised Nero.

V almost hyperventilated and mumbled things like: "No...he's not...I can't...please...don't...I need you..."

"Woah, V, calm down", Nero rushed to say, gently stroking V's back, "Shh...it's alright. I'm gonna stay. I won't leave you alone."

He looked at Dante and Kyrie, shrugged and said: "Can I stay here with him?"

Dante grinned: "Sure, but as you know, I am not going to leave Vergil's side until I'm certain he's got Urizen in check, so...I'm gonna stay here, too."

Now what?

Should all three of them sleep in one bed? And what about Kyrie?

As if she read his mind, Kyrie said: "It's fine, Nero. Don't worry. I'll sleep in Dante's room. I'll be safe there. But call me if you need my help. It doesn't matter what time it is."

Nero nodded and smiled at her, thankful. She really was the most amazing person in the world!


	11. Chapter 11

Vergil was lying on his side, when he woke up and the first thing he noticed was, that his throat hurt and that he had no clue why.

The second thing was, that someone was lying snug against his back, arms wrapped around his chest and one leg sprawled over his. Obviously it wasn't Dante, because Vergil was staring at the side of his brother's head at the moment. Dante was still asleep, snoring lightly with his mouth open. So if it wasn't Dante, who would dare to be this close to him? It couldn't be a human and those hands were not Trish's, that would only leave Nero but why?

Why would Nero hold him like this, sleep like this?

Vergil went through the memories of last evening.

After dinner, he and Dante had gone upstairs and straight to bed. He remembered that falling asleep hadn't been that easy but he must have managed at one point.

Did Nero sneak into the room during the night to sleep next to his father?

But why?

Because he had a nightmare?...No! That was preposterous! First of all, Vergil would've noticed him coming into the bedroom. He definitely would've woken up and...why would Nero even do something so childlike? And besides, his girlfriend was here as well. Surely, if he was in need of comfort, he would go to her, or maybe even to Dante, or to any other friend of his...certainly not to Vergil.

And yet, here he was, lying so close to him, that he could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath he took.

What was he missing here?

Something must have happened during the night.

Something that Vergil couldn't remember.

Maybe one of the others had taken over his body again. Just like on the day Urizen had killed Dante's friend. It hadn't been exactly hard to piece together what had happened but Vergil couldn't recall the act itself. But here...? He had nothing to go on. There was no blood.

There were no body parts.

He was still wearing the collar and the leash was attached to the bed.

Dante and Nero both seemed relaxed.

Well, at least he could deduce from that, that Urizen had not been outside, wreaking havoc...he wouldn't dare to anyway.

That left Nelo Angelo and V.

Twice Vergil had woken up in someone's arms before, in Dante's to be precise, after Nelo Angelo had taken over his body for a short while. Had he been outside? But why? And would Nero hug Nelo Angelo?

From what Vergil had been able to gather since the day he had become 'whole' again, V seemed to be fond of the boy.

Yes, V seemed to be the more logical candidate here.

But that led him back to the question as to why?

Why had V been outside?

How did he end up sleeping like this?

Suddenly, Vergil heard a soft and tired voice inside his head. It seemed to come from the right side, V's side.

"You are right. It was me. I woke up during the night and felt like I was about to die. Nero, Dante and Kyrie took care of me, especially Nero."

"But why?"

"Urizen. He is in a vengeful mood. He made me throw up all that I had eaten at dinner last night and told me that if he couldn't have human blood, I wasn't allowed to have food either."

"What?!" Vergil couldn't believe what he just heard. He became very angry all of a sudden.

How dare he!

Vergil turned to the left, where Urizen's place inside his head was and shouted the demon's name with as much venom in his voice as he could.

Nelo Angelo appeared at his side, asking: "Has he hurt a human, despite the punishment he knows he will face if he does?"

"He's hurt V."

Nelo Angelo cocked his head: "Hm...interesting."

Urizen came towards them, radiating malicious joy.

"I see you found out about my ultimatum."

"I did", Vergil ground out, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his temper in check.

"You have to comply if you don't want the weak human to suffer."

"You seem to forget that we share a body now. Before long, you will be affected by this as well. Your strength will wane."

"By the time it will affect me, he will have wasted away already. Withered completely, like the weed he is. As I said before, you and I, we don't need him. We have lived for years with him gone, banished to the deepest, darkest pit of your mind. What makes you think we need him now?"

"You are right. We don't need him", Vergil said and Nelo Angelo raised an eyebrow in astonishment at that, but he kept quiet.

This wasn't his fight.

He was simply here to keep an eye on Urizen. He had promised Vergil, he wouldn't allow the demon to destroy any more of Dante's beloved little world. But there was one thing he simply had to do. V didn't need to hear this. It would make him sad and Nelo Angelo existed to protect all of Vergil and that obviously included V. So he made sure that this discussion would not reach V's ears.

"But V has lived. Outside. For days. In his own body. Just like you did. I can't banish him. I can't kill him. He became too strong, became too much of a real human being. His presence in my mind has become just as intense as yours. Because I split my body in two, you both are now distinct personalities and we can't go back to the way it once was. You must feel that you are different now, too. Being outside as yourself changed you. Before this happened, you were closer to me. We never had to talk like this. Remember? We communicated through thoughts, feelings...we were one, one mind. But now...now we don't know what the other thinks, unless he uses words as well." Vergil took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

It didn't work.

He felt emotional, too emotional.

So much frustration, anger and helplessness about this whole mess was bubbling up.

"Do you think I like this?", Vergil spat, "Do you think I enjoy having V in the back of my mind, telling me what I should do and say? He wants me to ask people about their well-being. He wants me to care, to smile at them and he scolds me when I say something that he considers mean or hurtful. He chides me when I don't say 'please' or 'thank you'. V makes everything more complicated. I can't comprehend his feelings, his notions. I want him gone. Probably as much as you do, if not more." Vergil felt so drained all of a sudden.

He hung his head and continued a bit softer: "But we can't. We simply can't. V is a part of us, a part of our power, we need him. Getting rid of him is wrong, it would cripple us. Do you understand?"

Uncharacteristically gentle, Urizen reached out with one hand and touched Vergil's cheek, making him look up.

For a brief moment, neither of them had to talk.

They could see the sadness and longing for their lost connection in each other's eyes.

"I understand", Urizen finally said, and Vergil breathed a sigh of relief.

Slowly, Urizen stepped back and the look on his face made Vergil tense up again.

"However, it is hard for me to believe your words. If you really miss my consciousness being intertwined with yours, how can you threaten me with this...this nightmare, should I step out of line and hurt a human again? You know full well what it evokes."

"Certainly", Vergil snarled, "but you forced my hand. Dante's friends are not food. I don't want to hurt you, believe me, it's the last thing I want to do. I remember the pain just like you do, I remember the moment we broke apart because of it and how Nelo Angelo came into existence to rescue us from it. So I derive no pleasure from this, it's quite the opposite but I will have him do it, if you try to drink the blood of another one of Dante's friends."

"Fine. I promise you that I won't touch Dante's friends and in turn, you promise me to never use Nelo Angelo's memories of Mundus' torture to keep me in check."

Vergil wasn't sure if agreeing to that was a good idea.

What if he needed to control Urizen in the future?

How would he do it then, if he couldn't use this method?

The armour that Mundus had made him wear, had drained all of his demonic power and had replaced it with Mundus' own. Losing all of that, his very essence, was Urizen's greatest fear, his personal nightmare. And Nelo Angelo could make Urizen relive this moment, all Vergil had to do was ask. And so Vergil had used this to scare Urizen into obedience. But even the threat itself made Vergil feel sick to the stomach.

He really hoped that he never had to do it. Although...what if it was absolutely necessary one day?

On the other hand, if he gave his word, Dante's friends would be safe and wasn't that what Vergil wanted?

Yes, it was.

"Alright. I promise not to use those memories. Do I have your word as well?" Urizen nodded: "Yes. I promise not to drink the blood of your brother's friends."

Good idea or not, it was done now.

"What about V? Will you let him eat human food?"

There was a mischievous glint in Urizen's eyes when he replied: "Of course. If I am allowed sustenance, too."

Vergil was taken aback.

Didn't they just agree on human blood being off the menu?

Didn't they...oh...ohhh...no!

It began to dawn on Vergil and his blood ran cold.

How could he have been so stupid?!

How could he have been so inattentive.

Urizen had tricked him.

He hadn't promised to abjure human blood in general, he had only promised not to drink the blood of Dante's friends.

Vergil moaned.

"I see you caught on", Urizen laughed.

Vergil blamed the weakened state his body was in at the moment.

It probably affected his mind as well, that was why he hadn't noticed the explicit phrasing of Urizen's promise.

He was way too tired for this.

Vergil fell to his knees and hung his head in defeat.

"How am I supposed to give you access to human blood?", he asked, weary, "In case you forgot, I am still wearing the collar. And until Dante is convinced that I can control you, this thing will continue to be around my neck. Dante won't let me out of his sight. So tell me, what do you want me to do?" Vergil decided to surrender.

He had no energy left to fight Urizen.

He had tried for almost six days to get the upper hand and now, due to his own stupidity, he had lost the right to use the only thing that would've worked against Urizen. And breaking the promise he had given him was not an option. He wouldn't betray...himself?...his demonic side?...whatever...he had given his word and he knew Urizen would keep his and leave Dante's friends alone, so he had to keep his as well.

Vergil had made a mistake and had to suffer the consequences now, whether he liked it or not.

"I can be patient. I will refrain from taking over your body and thus hiding my craving for blood from Dante. Soon he will be convinced that you have me under control and he will remove the collar. When that happens, you will walk as far away from your brother's house as possible, to find a human for me that I can drink dry and as soon as I am done, I will let you take over again and you can return to Devil May Cry, if you so chose. Dante will be none the wiser and V can have his human food."

Vergil wasn't sure how long V would last without food but there was no other way, was there.

He had to agree to those terms.

With his head still lowered, Vergil nodded.

He didn't want to see the smug grin and the superior look on Urizen's face, he felt miserable enough.

"Don't look so disheartened", he heard the demon say, "I think this agreement is convenient for both of us. Dante's friends will be safe and I will get human blood."

Yes, Vergil thought bitter, very convenient.

He got up, turned around, walked away from Urizen and to his surprise stepped through some sort of invisible barrier.

Immediately, Nelo Angelo seemed to appear from nowhere and said: "Don't be alarmed. This was my doing. I created this...ehm...bubble, so that V wouldn't hear what you two were talking about."

"Why?" Vergil frowned.

"He is already upset about you saying that you don't need him. I didn't want him to hear more that would make him sad."

Hmm...Vergil paused.

Maybe this was good.

Maybe this was perfect.

V didn't know about the deal Vergil has made with Urizen, which meant that he couldn't blurt out the truth to Nero, or Dante or anyone else.

Yes, he would keep him in the dark about this.

It was safer this way.

For V as well as Dante and the others, everything would stay the same;

Urizen won't allow V to eat human food until he gets to drink human blood.

They didn't need to know about their discussion, about Vergil being tricked by Urizen, about their agreement, right?

No...no, they didn't.

"Will you keep this a secret?" Vergil asked Nelo Angelo, with a nod towards Urizen, "don't tell V, or Dante. No one needs to know."

"Alright. But I fear that you have made a grave mistake in promising Urizen not to use his nightmare against him."

"I know, I know", Vergil sighed, massaging his temples.

"And I also have to remind you that your body is in dire need of some sort of nutrition, or else it will shut down. If V is not allowed human food and human blood, for Urizen, is forbidden as well, I suggest you find a demon."

A demon?

That was not a bad idea.

He had fed on demons in the Underworld.

They had been his only source of food for years.

Urizen wouldn't object to that and V just had to deal with it.

Because Nelo Angelo was right, his body needed energy, badly.

He felt it the second he took it over again.

He opened his eyes and tensed up immediately.

Nero was still hugging him from behind but now, so was Dante, from the front.

His brother must have moved a bit down during the time Vergil had been submerged in his own mind, because he was now nestled up against his chest.

Vergil allowed himself to relax when he noticed that both men were still very much asleep.

Carefully, anxious not to wake Dante, Vergil tilted his own head so that he was able to sniff his brother's hair.

The scent brought back memories of their childhood, because Dante still smelled the same.

A deep sadness engulfed Vergil, sadness about all the years that they had spent apart and about the lies he would most likely have to tell his brother in the days to come.

Tears began to form in the corner of his eyes and Vergil was too exhausted to fight them back, so he let them fall and wept as silently as he could.


	12. Chapter 12

There was a faint quiver in his pillow and Dante didn't understand why.  
That was not something a pillow would do, right?

He reluctantly opened his eyes and saw...nothing. Huh?  
Ah, his face was pressed against the pillow, that's why he wasn't able to see a thing.  
He moved his head a bit and noticed immediately, that in fact, there was no pillow, at least not in front of his face.  
This was his brother's chest.  
He must have moved closer to Vergil sometime during the night.

Dante scooted back a bit to be able to see his brother's face and was surprised to see tears on it.  
He was crying without making a single sound but he was trembling ever so slightly.  
This explained the quivering pillow.

"Vergil?", he whispered, to find out who was currently inhabiting his brother's body and when he saw how the half-demon in front of him tried to compose himself, how he hurriedly forced a brittle mask of indifference on his face, Dante knew without a doubt, that this was Vergil.  
Asking him if he was alright was redundant, so Dante refrained from doing it. Instead he reached out, carefully pushed a wisp of hair out of Vergil's face and smiled at him: "I'm happy you're here, Verge. I've missed you."  
For a split second, his brother's face scrunched up as if someone had punched him in the gut but it was gone so fast that Dante wasn't even sure he'd seen it.  
Vergil mumbled something like: "I have to get up", and peeled himself out of Nero's embrace and climbed over Dante to get out of the bed.

Nero grumbled dozily and in protest because the warm body next to him had suddenly disappeared. But his eyes snapped open in alarm, when he heard the rattle of the chain that was attached to Vergil's collar.  
He relaxed quickly though when he looked at Dante, who grinned and said to him in a sickly-sweet voice: "Good morning, sunshine! Did you sleep well?"

Nero grunted and threw a pillow at him, which Dante dodged with ease, laughing.  
It was way too easy to tease this kid.

A thud coming from behind his back made Dante jump out of bed immediately.  
Vergil!  
He was lying on the floor, a weak moan escaping his lips.

Dante helped his brother to stand up again. It worked but he held onto one of his arms, just in case. Because Vergil looked awefully pale and was swaying dangerously.  
"I need nourishment", he muttered.

"No surprise there. It's been almost a week since you were able to keep something down", Dante said but then frowned, "ehm...but can you eat human food? Because last night, V told us that Urizen won't let him eat human food anymore. Does that include you as well?"

"Yes, in a way. He can make this body reject it. I need a demon. He will accept that."

"What?", Nero sat up in bed, staring at Vergil.

Dante scratched his cheek, thinking.  
A demon, huh?  
Well, that can be arranged and if it kept his brother alive...  
"Alright. Let's go out and find you some breakfast."

"Wait, what?" Nero said, obviously confused, "he wants to eat a demon?"

"Sure. You never had a bite while hunting?"  
Hehe...Dante enjoyed how shocked Nero looked at him right now.

"Ew...no!"

"Well, it's the only decent source of food in the Underworld, so...you know. It's not as bad as you think. Your demon-side would love the taste."  
Of course, Vergil would probably just drink the demon's blood, which was nutritious enough but Dante simply loved to pull the kid's chain.

Nero grimaced: "Yeah, I doubt it."

Dante chuckled and made Vergil sit on the edge of the bed.  
He began to help him put his shoes and jacket on and then got dressed himself.  
Nero got out of bed, still shaking his head in disbelief, saying: "I'm going to stay here with Kyrie and have normal breakfast, if that's alright with you."  
He paused and added: "Or do you need help with...", he gestured towards Vergil.

"Nah, we're fine. Right, Verge?" Dante said, while giving Vergil a pat on the back.  
Unfortunately, that 'pat' made his brother topple over and Dante hurried to catch him, before he could fall to the floor for a second time this morning.  
This earned him a growled: "Watch it!"

Jeez, seemed like he had to rein his strength in around Vergil for now.

He untied the leash from the bed and wrapped the chain around his left forearm.  
"Alright, let's go."

Dante pulled Vergil to his feet and was about to help him walk towards the door, when he heard his brother grumble, that he could walk on his own, and didn't need any help.  
Dante rolled his eyes.  
Stubborn idiot!  
Well, if he wanted to make a fool out of himself so desperately, Dante would oblige him.  
Without a comment, he let go of his brother's arm, went to the door, opened it and waited.  
It was almost physically painful to watch Vergil struggle to walk.  
With each step, the tremor in his legs increased visibly.  
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and his breathing became laboured.  
Nero was about to go and help his father, but Dante looked at him and shook his head.  
He wanted to make a point.  
To his surprise, the stubborn asshole made it to the door but the second he reached it, he collapsed into Dante's arms, grumbling: "I hate this."

"I know", Dante said sympathetically and added: "Now, will you let me help you?"  
There was only a grunt in response and knowing his brother, this was the closest thing to a 'yes' that he would get.  
Before they left, Dante asked Nero if he knew any particular places in town, where they would most likely stumble upon a demon or two. If there even were any left, that was. After all, Nero and the ladies had been very thorough in cleaning up the city. But Nero explained to him, that there was an abandoned factory close to where the Qliphoth's main root had been and the demons had been drawn to that building in the weeks after the Qliphoth had fallen. They had been hiding in there, looking for a way back to the Underworld. They probably still felt the demonic energy of the now closed portal that had been nearby. If he would find any remaining demons, it would be in there.  
Perfect!  
No humans would wander around there and see them, or tempt Urizen.  
Dante wasn't sure if Vergil, in his weakened state, would still be able to control the demon, especially when feeding on another demon.  
So he had to be cautious.

Dante said goodbye to Nero and helped Vergil down the stairs and out the backdoor, where he kept his motorcycle Cavaliere. He got on the bike, wrapped the leash around his torso and told his brother to sit down behind him.  
He had expected some sort of protest about having to sit behind Dante and having to cling to him, but Vergil got on the bike without saying a word.  
No complaint, no look of disapproval about Dante's choice of transport...yep, his brother was definitely feeling like shit.

* * *

Dante bit down on the inside of both of his cheeks to stop himself from grinning like a maniac.  
The situation was incredibly hilarious.  
It was really hard for him not to laugh out loud and say a thing or two about it, but he could still recall the way Kyrie would look at him every time he made fun of Vergil, so he tried to restrain himself.  
This time.

Dante was walking through the abandoned factory and in front of him, on the leash, was his brother, who tried to pick up the scent of a demon.  
Hehehe...like a good little dog.  
Oh, Dante wished he could say things like: Find the demon! Good boy! Hehehe...  
Ah, well, he would just think them, because of course he knew that it wasn't appropriate to joke around right now.  
Vergil still struggled to walk but once again refused any help, claiming that he felt better than back at the house.

Pff...blatant lie!  
Why would he?  
He hadn't had any food since then.  
But Dante let him stumble through the corridors on wobbly legs, he watched him wipe the sweat off his pale face and ignored how he wheezed. Because Dante was simply too tired to argue about it and besides he knew that the moment Vergil would collapse again, he would have to accept his help anyway, so...

"I sense something. It's coming our way", Vergil said.  
And yes, Dante could sense it too.  
It was something weak though, his demon side didn't feel threatened or worried at all.  
They saw it, the moment they walked around the next corner.  
It was an Empusa.  
Ugly thing but no match for them at all.  
Although...Dante pondered, could Vergil take on an Empusa in his state?  
And without the Yamato?

Woah!  
Okay.  
Never mind.

The Empusa had stumbled towards Vergil, without even looking where it was heading.  
Probably weakened and disoriented by being separated from the Qliphoth for so long.  
Quickly, Vergil had grabbed it by its neck and had bitten it to death in an instant.  
How efficient he was...it was obviously not the first Empusa he had to kill with his bare hands, or rather teeth, Dante thought.

His brother was now greedily drinking the demonic insect's blood and seemed to be deeply immerses in the process.  
He didn't let himself be interrupted by Dante's jokes or questions, didn't stop to catch his breath or say something.  
Frankly, it was starting to creep him out.

"Slow down, Verge. No one is going to take it away from you", he said and carefully pulled at Vergil's arm.

His brother finally stopped drinking and carelessly discarded the lifeless body of the Empusa.  
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said: "I'm done anyway. We can go back now."

Huh?  
Dante raised one eyebrow in astonishment.  
Talking about efficiency!  
It was nice and all, but it bordered on boring.  
He had hoped for more...action, fighting demons and so on.  
This felt like buying groceries and besides, Dante didn't want to go back already.

"Really? I mean...did you have enough? Shouldn't we look for another one?"

Vergil shook his head and began to walk back to the motorcycle.  
He seemed to feel better now, stronger.  
Dante quickly follow him, to avoid that there would be a tug on the leash.  
And for a moment, it felt like he was the one on the leash and not his brother.  
How annoying.

Then his brother stopped walking.

* * *

Vergil tried to hide his inner turmoil.  
V was close to throwing up again but this time out of panic and disgust.  
Because V had taken over for a moment, while Vergil had been drinking the blood, but shocked and disgusted, he had retreated almost immediately again.  
It hadn't been fast enough though.  
Demon blood was not something a human would call 'delicious' and V was no exception, he couldn't deal with the taste.  
After that unfortunate incident, Vergil had fought desperately to retain control over his body and drink as much blood as he could, while reassuring V that everything was alright: 'It wasn't a human, no. It was a demon. We need this blood, now calm down.'

It was Vergil's fault, really.  
He should have talked to V before feeding on the demon.  
He should have told him about his plan to sustain their body like this and that he had to stay in the back during the whole thing.  
But this was so new and foreign to him; having to inform someone of his plans.  
Vergil had never been squeamish about feeding on demons and now a part of him was sick to the stomach because of it.  
This was incredibly confusing.

V was a bit calmer now, although still fighting the nausea.  
Vergil hurried to get away from the Empusa corpse and reach the motorcycle.  
He needed to distract V somehow, make him forget about the taste in their mouth, make him ignore their full stomach...full of demon blood...ohhhh...

Vergil quickly covered his mouth with one hand as a wave of nausea hit him again.  
Of course, his brother noticed it and asked if he was alright.  
Vergil took a deep breath, removed his hand and said: "Distract me."

The response was as expected, a confused: "What?"  
Vergil rolled his eyes and tried to come up with a simple and fast explanation.  
"V cannot deal with the taste of demon blood. I need you to distract him...me...us...well, just tell me something, anything."

If Vergil wouldn't have felt so terrible, he would've laughed out loud.  
His brother, who was the most talkative person he knew, seemed to have no clue what to talk about.

"Ehm...alright...distract you...ehm..." Dante was racking his brains but didn't seem to be able to come up with something.  
Then suddenly, his face lit up and he said: "Nero! I could tell you about the first time I met Nero. That would interest V, right?"

Vergil nodded, sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, while Dante sat down in front of him, already beginning to tell him, very vividly, about the day he had met Nero.  
At first, it was still a struggle to keep the demon blood down but gradually, V began to focus on Dante's words, listening intently.  
Soon he stopped thinking about the foul taste in their mouth and the blood inside their stomach and Vergil heaved a sigh.  
Finally, he could relax for a while and actually enjoy the feeling of strength returning to him thanks to the demon blood.

Suddenly, he heard a whisper from the back of his mind, low and pleased: "Yes, nice, isn't it? Now think what human blood can do for us..."

Yes, how much better it would be...how much more strength it would give him...Oh, yes...He couldn't wait for...

NO!  
No!  
Why was he thinking like that again?!

"Vergil? Are you even listening to me?"

Oh. Dante.  
Vergil had in fact not been listening to him for a while now and decided to ignore the question.  
Instead he got up and said: "I feel better. Let's drive back."

He began to walk without waiting for Dante.  
But his brother quickly jumped to his feet and followed him.  
Vergil could feel that his odd behaviour was irritating Dante and that he wanted to talk about it, but for some reason, he didn't.  
Vergil appreciated it.  
He didn't want to lie to his brother, not yet anyways.  
They drove back to 'Devil may cry' without saying a word.


	13. Chapter 13

Everything was coming up roses.

A few weeks ago, Dante had discussed the leash-matter (hehehe...) with his friends and together they had decided that it was time to remove the collar. Well, Lady had been against it, and even Nero had been hesitant but in the end, they had agreed as well. And it had turned out to be the right decision. Vergil had truly overcome his weird human blood addiction. He was even eating normal food again...not much though, but still. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far. No drooling, no manipulation, no killing and no appearances of Urizen, Nelo Angelo, or V (well, sometimes Vergil allowed V to take over to enjoy human food). Vergil seemed to be truly in control again AND he was still staying at Devil may cry even though they had removed the collar, meaning; Vergil could've run off to god knows where but he had decided to stay.  
This made Dante happy and distracted him from the harsh truth that Morrison was dead.

Everyday Dante felt his loss. Not just because there weren't as many jobs for him now, but also because Morrison had been his friend and he truly missed him. Sometimes the sadness gripped him by the throat and chocked him until he couldn't hold the tears back any longer. But he always made sure, that no one would see him like this. It would only result in talking about it and that was the last thing Dante wanted to do. It wouldn't change a thing. Morrison was dead and it was Dante's fault. It was as simple as that.  
Painful, but the truth.  
The longer Dante pondered about it, the clearer it became that it was incredibly morbid that he was looking for the company of Morrison's killer in order to distract himself from his friend's death. But as weird as it was, being around Vergil just made him happy, so he decided to ignore those weird thoughts. And besides, if anyone should be labelled as Morrison's killer, it was him and not Vergil.  
Ah, he wished he could stop thinking about that!  
Anyway...life continued, relentless.

Sometimes Dante and Vergil accompanied Nero on hunts and it was always a lot of fun to kill demons with those two.  
During these hunts, Dante was able to forget about Morrison's death and all the other shit that had happened.  
Vergil was allowed to fight with the Yamato when they were killing demons together.  
But when the job was done, he had to give the weapon back. It had been one of Nero's conditions. He had said that he would feel safer if Dante would hold on to the weapon until they knew for sure, that Vergil was indeed completely in control. And Dante had agreed to that but mainly because he was afraid that once Vergil would be in possession of the portal opening katana again (without Dante being right there next to him, able to watch his every move), he would disappear for another twenty years or so.  
So this decision had been a no-brainer really.

Even if Vergil didn't lose a single word about it, it was pretty obvious that this annoyed him.  
A lot!  
Every time he had to hand the weapon over to Dante after a hunt, he gritted his teeth and stared down at his own feet.  
But he never complained, not once.  
Maybe to acquiesce was his way of atoning for Morrison's death and the psycho-demon-tree business?  
Well, whatever it was, Dante was glad that Vergil followed the rules.

Truly, everything was coming up roses.

"Hey, Dante. It happened again."

Except for that maybe.  
Dante moaned.  
Yeah, maybe not everything was fine.  
But it wasn't a big deal.

Dante took his feet off the desk and sat up straight to face Nero who had come down the stairs and was now standing in front of him.  
He put a little yellow post-it note onto the desk and said: "There. This time, it was under my pillow. I swear to god, if this is some kind of prank your..."

"I told you before, kid; it's not me", Dante rolled his eyes.

Seriously, he would never do something as lame as that.  
Leaving post-its in someone else's belongings...that wasn't a prank, that was...well, Dante didn't know what it was, but certainly not a prank.  
Especially since the messages on those notes didn't even make any sense.  
They were just random words.  
This new one said: night.

"Well, who is doing it then? It's freaking creepy. I once found one of these notes in my underwear drawer. I mean...come on!"

Dante chuckled: "Are you sure it's not Kyrie? Maybe it's some sort of surprise? A riddle for you to solve. Is there an anniversary coming up that you forgot about?"

"Please, I never forget an important date. And no, it's not Kyrie. I asked her, she said no and I believe her. She never lies to me... unlike you and your weirdo of a brother."

"Ouch...", Dante pressed one hand to his chest and acted as if Nero had just shot him in the heart: "I'm not lying. I promise. But as you recall, my dear brother is not alone inside his head. Maybe one of them is leaving you those notes and keeps Vergil in the dark about it."

Nero frowned, then said: "Yeah, you're right. V maybe?"

"Probably. I can't quite picture Urizen writing little post-it notes for you. Besides, V has the annoying tendency to be cryptic."

Nero nodded absentmindedly, thinking hard about something.  
Suddenly he snatched the post-it off the table and said: "I have to check something." and ran back upstairs.

Dante put his feet back on the desk and sighed.  
No, post-it notes weren't a big deal.  
Everything was fine.  
Right?

* * *

Why was Nero still here?  
And Kyrie as well?  
As far as he knew, they had a place of their own in Fortuna.  
There was no reason for them to continue living in Dante's house.  
Hadn't he been convincing enough?  
Were they suspecting something?  
No, that was impossible.  
Vergil had been calm, collected and in control from the moment he had made the pact with Urizen.  
And even after Dante had freed him from this blasted collar, he had continued to be docile and peaceful.  
He had agreed to the rules they had come up with, even the one that said that he had to give the Yamato back to Dante, every time they were done with a hunting job.  
Although, he wanted nothing more than to rip Dante's head off for the insolence.  
But he didn't.  
He acquiesced.  
He behaved.  
All for Urizen. And to keep Dante's new family safe.  
So why?  
Why was Nero still here?

As interesting as it was to fight alongside him, his presence began to make him feel uneasy and he couldn't actually say why.  
He simply had the feeling that Nero knew something, or that, if someone would find out what he was doing at night, it would be him.  
Where those thoughts came from...Vergil didn't know.  
Maybe he simply began to succumb to paranoia.

He wished he could ask Urizen for some insight.  
Maybe he knew more.  
But he wasn't supposed to talk to Urizen about anything related to their pact.  
They wanted to keep V in the dark because the human would never approve of it.  
And the risk that he would hear something was way too high.  
That's why they didn't talk.  
There was silence inside Vergil's head.  
Had been for weeks.  
Compared to the constant bickering and fighting from before the pact, it was heaven but somehow...this silence was...wrong...the uncomfortable kind.  
It made Vergil feel on edge.

In the beginning V had asked him questions, almost relentlessly: "Why aren't you talking to each other? Why the sudden peace? Why am I allowed to eat human food? What are you two hiding from me?" etc.  
But after two weeks, V had stopped trying to get answers from them and now there was simply quiet distrust radiating from V's space inside Vergil's head.  
Was he up to something?  
Was he somehow spying on him?  
Was this why Vergil felt so paranoid?  
Or was Urizen planning something?  
No.  
Why would he?

Shit!  
Vergil hated this 'silence'.  
It set his nerves on edge.

A low and slightly impatient growl came from the part of his head where Urizen resided. This meant that it was time. Time to leave the house, to hunt for humans.  
Dante, Nero and Kyrie were most likely asleep by now.  
Somehow Urizen always knew. Or maybe he simply guessed but until this day, he had been right, every time. No one has ever seen him leave or come back.

Vergil had been sitting downstairs on the sofa and had been staring at the page of a book for the past hours. Thinking, instead of reading.  
But now that Urizen had told him, in his own charming way, that it was time to hunt, Vergil put the book down and got up.  
He didn't particularly enjoy these nightly excursions. They were a nuisance but unfortunately necessary for him to function 'normal', to remain at his brother's side.  
And it was working rather well, if one could ignore the growing paranoia.

There was an impatient nudge from Urizen, reminding Vergil that it was time for him to make sure that V was as far away from the front as possible, that he wouldn't see or hear a thing.  
When it was done, they left the house. Vergil walked aimlessly through the streets until he felt that he had put enough distance between him and 'Devil may cry'.  
"You may take over now", was all he said, before he closed his eyes and let Urizen come to the front.  
The demon immediately changed their shape and Vergil could feel Urizen's happiness, as he flew high up into the night sky.  
No rules, no pretending; sweet freedom.  
The only thing Urizen missed though, was the Yamato. But he would get the weapon back...sooner or later.

* * *

"No! Please! I beg you! Don't hurt my wife! She's pregnant! Please, let her go!"

With a gasp, Vergil woke up.  
This man, screaming at him, begging him not to harm his wife...had it been a dream?  
Or was it a memory?  
Did Urizen kill this woman tonight?

Vergil didn't want to know, not really.  
He forced himself to focus on his current situation.  
Where was he?

He was lying on a cold concrete floor.  
At first he was at a loss as to where exactly he was, but then he recognized the alley. It was close to 'Devil may cry'.  
The sun wasn't up yet.  
Good.  
He could sneak back into the house and lie down on the couch without being noticed. Just like so many nights before.

When he had told Dante, on the first night after the collar had been removed, that he needed some space and that he would like to sleep on the couch, his brother's reaction had been somewhat strange. There had been sadness in his eyes and voice when he had told him that it was fine.  
It had been confusing but Vergil had decided to pay no further heed to that.  
He absolutely had to be alone at night.  
Sneaking out of Dante's bedroom unnoticed would've been impossible.  
His brother's demon side was always alert. Even in sleep. Just like Urizen.

Vergil looked down at his clothes and was relieved to find them clean, albeit a bit crumpled but that didn't matter.  
Thankfully, Urizen's scales absorbed the blood that touched them, so if, while killing humans, some blood would've soiled him, there was soon no trace of it left.  
It didn't work the other way around though. In his human form, Vergil couldn't make blood conveniently disappear like that. But this time, Urizen must've stayed in his demon form until the very end of his night time meal.  
Good.  
It saved Vergil the trouble of having to clean his clothes.  
Suddenly, he heard V's voice from the back: "What was that?"

Oh, no.  
Vergil had completely forgotten about V.  
He should've checked if he was still comfortably hidden away in the back of his head.

"What was what?", he asked back.

"That voice. A man's voice. I heard him beg. And he said that his wife was pregnant. And...where the hell are we? What is going on, Vergil?!"  
There was a slight hint of rising panic in V's tone.

Shit!  
Now what?  
Vergil didn't know what to say.  
He couldn't explain this without revealing what Urizen was doing at night. So, he decided to just ignore the first question altogether.

"We are on our way back to Dante's place. I just had to get some air. I couldn't sleep." Vergil hoped that this was believable enough.  
V scoffed: "Is that so" and then raised his voice and turned towards Urizen: "What have you done to that woman?! Did you torture her? Did you drink her blood? Did you kill her? And don't you dare lie to me! I have the right to know the truth. This is my body as well."

"Oh, the little, fragile human wants to know the truth. But can he handle it?", Urizen's deep voice resounded inside Vergil's head, mocking V.  
"I can handle anything you throw at me", V stubbornly retorted.  
"Don't!", Vergil shouted, unsure whether he had aimed that at the human or the demon. Maybe both.  
He did not want Urizen to reveal the horrible things he did at night and he wished V would stop asking questions.

"Vergil? What were you doing outside?"

Vergil frowned.  
A new voice?  
How odd.  
Whose was that now?

Suddenly, he realised that he was already standing in front of the couch. He must've entered the house, without even noticing, because of all the talking inside his own head.  
And to his horror, the couch wasn't empty.  
Dante and Nero were sitting on it, both with expressions on their faces that made his stomach churn.  
Several little yellow post-it notes were lying on the table in front of them.  
Different words were written on those post-its. One word per note.  
It seemed like Nero and Dante had arranged them in a way that they created a certain sentence. One that was damning Vergil.

"Obviously, I don't have to answer your question. You already know", Vergil said, while he stared at the post-its in confusion.  
In what seemed like his own handwriting, it said: _Urizen is killing humans at night. You must stop him!_


	14. Chapter 14

Finally.  
V sighed.  
Finally, Nero had figured it out.  
Took him long enough.  
V would've thought that the words 'Urizen', 'killing' and 'humans' would've sufficed, but apparently not.  
V had to continue and actually write all the words of his message down until Nero had the wanted epiphany.  
But now, V was relieved.  
It was out.  
Dante and Nero knew.

Urizen and Vergil had underestimated him. He was human, yes, but he wasn't stupid.  
Did they really think, that the changes in their shared body would go unnoticed by him? Even if they refused to talk to him, even if they pushed him back into the darkness of his former prison, night after night... they must've known that he would eventually find out.  
The human blood (and most likely flesh as well) Urizen was consuming, changed their hybrid body. It made them considerably stronger and the feeling of being superior to anyone and anything was dominating Urizen's and Vergil's part of the mind. And if that hadn't been enough for V to figure out what was going on, the news sure as hell confirmed his suspicions. Sometimes V would catch a glimpse of a newspaper headline or spot a poster in the streets, or he heard a TV news reporter talk about it. People in Redgrave City were disappearing. V didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes himself to know what all of this meant.  
So yes, he had figured it out and yes, he had written those notes to put an end to it. And he was glad it worked. Even if he was slightly afraid now.  
Should he confess?  
Should he tell them that it had been him?  
What would Urizen and Vergil do to him? Would they banish him? Forbid him to eat again?  
Had it been a mistake to rat them out?  
NO!  
He couldn't continue to stand idly by while they murdered innocent people!  
It wasn't the right thing to do.

* * *

"What the hell, man?! We trusted you!", Nero snapped at Vergil.  
Dante nodded and added, a bit less aggressive than Nero: "Yeah, why'd you do it, Verge? Did you consciously decided to become a mass murderer AGAIN or is something else going on? Something we don't know yet? I thought you were good, in control?"

Suddenly Kyrie was materializing next to Vergil. They hadn't heard her coming down the stairs.  
"What is going on? Why aren't you guys in bed? Has something happened?"

Nero was about to explain the situation to her, when Vergil's eyes began to glow and in one swift motion, he moved behind her and grabbed her throat.  
Nero shouted his girlfriends name and jumped up but Urizen growled: "Don't move."  
Then he addressed Dante, who still sat on the couch, staring at him: "Give me the Yamato and the girl stays alive."

"And where will you go?"

"Back to the Underworld."

"Right. And on weekends you visit this world to snack on some humans. Forget it brother. I won't give you a portal opening weapon. Not when you are clearly loco. Threatening to kill Kyrie? Seriously?"

"Give me the Yamato."

"No."

* * *

Nero's eyes widened in shock. How could Dante say no? How could he risk Kyrie's life like this?  
"Don't kill her. Please! Don't do it", he begged while racking his brains over something he could say or do that would save Kyrie. And then it hit him; V! Yes, V was the only one in Vergil's messed up head who would listen to him.  
"Please, V! You have to stop him. Don't let him hurt Kyrie! I beg you, do something V!"

* * *

V: ...hmmm...seems you're in a bind.

Urizen: It's your fault, human! Who told you about the human blood?!

V: Nobody told me. I may be human, but that doesn't automatically imply that I am stupid. Our body changed. It wasn't hard to guess why that was happening.

Urizen: So you can feel it, too? We are faster, stronger...why put an end to this? Why tell on us? Why can't you see that this is change for the better?

V: Better? Why do you want this? Why do you have to be stronger and faster? For what? You are powerful enough. Or do you want to tell me that you are weak?

Urizen: I am not weak!

V: Exactly. So why in all the worlds do you think you need the blood of something so much weaker than you are? Every common demon lusts after human blood. Even Mundus was after it. I guess you are just like them then, aren't you? Common...lesser...dumb...

Urizen: I am not...

V: Wouldn't logic dictate that in order to become more powerful, you'd have to drink the blood of someone who is actually stronger than you?

Urizen: ...

* * *

V was sweating. Was it even possible for him to sweat inside Vergil's head? Well, whatever...he felt like he was sweating.  
Was Urizen buying it?  
Was he going to change his view?  
The whole thing had been a knee jerk reaction.  
V had to absolutely make sure that Kyrie wouldn't be killed. Nero had begged him for help! Nero had needed him!  
And so V had picked the one topic that was dominating Urizen's mind; Power and strength.  
To his surprise, it worked.  
Urizen was listening to him and if his luck continued, he would even believe him.  
V was making everything up of course, he had no clue what he was talking about, but the demon didn't need to know that. Kyrie was safe now. Out of Vergil's hands. V felt this more than he saw it.  
Somehow, no one seemed to control the body at the moment. This was odd, but V had no time to dwell on that. If he was reading it right, he might have a onetime chance to change Urizen's view about human blood.  
Yes, this could work.  
If he just found the right words to say...  
But what if he messed this up?  
What if he made it worse?  
V was sweating even more now.  
No! He could do this.  
Nero had once said that V's strength came from his mind and that he had more brains than Urizen. He hoped Nero was right.

* * *

Vergil stood in front of them like a statue, staring at the wall behind Dante and Nero.  
Suddenly, without saying a word Vergil let go of Kyrie's throat, both his arms falling to his sides as if he had lost control over them.

"I think you broke him", Dante said, frowning at his brothers' weird behaviour.

"Short circuit fault maybe?"  
Nero was relieved beyond belief that Kyrie was out of harm's way. He hurried to hug her and said: "Or V might have found the off-switch."  
"Reasonable assumption", Dante laughed but it was a strained laugh.  
He got up to get a closer look at his brother. Once again he wished he could see inside Vergil's head. How had it been possible for Vergil to murder innocent people at night, while Dante didn't notice a thing? And he should've noticed it! Damn it! Vergil reeked of human blood!  
Dante fought the urge to slap himself silly.  
How dense had he been?!  
He had probably desperately tried to cling to the 'happy-family-life' they've had for the last couple of weeks. It was the only explanation as to why his stupid brain wouldn't have put two and two together. It was no excuse though.

"Ehm...Verge? Anybody home?"  
Dante circled his brother once, trying to spot any kind of movement, but there was none, not even a twitch. Great. This again. It was still freaking him out when no one was in the driver seat.  
He hoped that someone would take over soon.  
Even dealing with Urizen was better than this.  
Finally, Vergil turned his head and looked at Dante, stating, without any emotion in his voice: "He is afraid."  
Oh, perfect! It was his favourite buddy Nelo Angelo.

"He wouldn't be pleased, if he knew that I am telling you this. But you should know."  
"Afraid? Who's afraid?" Dante had to ask, because Nelo couldn't possibly be talking about Vergil, right? His brother was not afraid. Never. Ever. Stubborn, yes, ungrateful, stupid and...well, Dante had a whole list of things his brother was, but 'afraid' was not on it.  
"Vergil", came the monotonous reply.  
Huh? Would you look at that!?

"Can you tell me why?"  
"He is afraid of losing you", Nelo answered.  
Dante heard Nero scoff and he couldn't blame the kid. This did sound...odd. And yet...after all the shit his brother had been through...maybe he WAS afraid...

Hell, Dante knew he was!  
He would do anything to keep his brother by his side. That was exactly why he hadn't handed him the Yamato over yet. Sure, of course, also because of the risk of him killing lots of people and blablabla...but the truth was; he was actually a selfish bastard and wanted Vergil to stay by his side.  
But if Vergil was really afraid of losing him, Dante, then he wouldn't leave the moment he would get his katana back, right?  
So, as screwed up as it sounded, Vergil being afraid was a good thing then. At least for Dante.

"So what? He's hiding now? Or what's going on in there?", Dante asked, pointing at Vergil's head...eh...Nelo's head...argh...whatever.

"Yes, you could say that. He retreated. This...situation was too much for him. And the others are somehow absent, busy. I don't know what to call it, but they seem very distracted. So I took over to ensure Vergil's safety...Oh." Nelo Angelo suddenly stopped talking. He closed his eyes and his head dropped, his chin touching the chest.  
Again, it looked like someone had flicked a switch or unplugged the Vergil-Bot.  
Hehe...that was a good one...Vergil-Bot..hehe.  
Dante chuckled, but of course, only on the inside.  
He had manners.  
And besides, he was well aware of the fact that he was close to freaking out right now. Distracting himself with nonsense like this has always helped him in the past. Coming up with cute nicknames for terrifying monsters and mocking huge-ass demons to prevent himself from shitting his pants...worked like a charm. He'd never, ever, admit to that, but it was his coping mechanism to soldier on. Nero tended to do that as well.  
"Now, YOU broke him", the kid said and Dante looked at him, feigning indignation. "What? I didn't even touch him."

* * *

V: Think about it. Who is the only one who is just as powerful as you are? Or maybe even more...

Urizen: He is not stronger than me!

V: He did defeat you though, after you've consumed the fruit of the Qliphoth.

Urizen: That's not true!

V: Oh, deep down you know it. And consider it...wouldn't his blood be more potent? After all, he absorbed the Sparda...

Urizen: ...

* * *

Vergil (maybe), lifted his head, opened his eyes, glanced at Dante and walked away.

"Where's he going?", Nero asked alarmed and Dante simply shrugged.  
How should he know what his weirdo of a brother was up to now?

He was about to follow him but then realized that Vergil was only going to the desk.  
There he opened a drawer. The biggest one, the one where Dante had stowed the chains and the collar. He watched his brother with growing curiosity. Vergil took all of it out of the drawer, then walked back and carefully laid the chains and the collar at Dante's feet. And of course, to make it even weirder, Vergil knelt down, lowered his head and said: "I do not ask you to forgive me for the things I've done. I...If you won't let me return to the Underworld, then I ask you to chain me up in the cellar and barricade the door."

This was getting absurd.  
It was unmistakably Vergil's voice but he acted like Nelo Angelo.  
Submissive.  
And it stirred something in Dante.  
His demon-side liked to see Vergil like this...a lot. It was quite unsettling.  
It felt like his brother had come to the conclusion that Dante was the stronger of the two of them. And yes...it felt right...and soooo wrong at the same time.  
What the fuck was happening here?!

But before Dante could sort through his thoughts and feelings and find some sort of reply to his brother's words, Nero suddenly appeared and punched Vergil in the face.  
The blow knocked him down and he landed on his side with a thud. Nero towered over him, shouting: "Do you think you can get off THIS lightly?! Sitting down in the cellar, doing nothing? Think again! You lied to us! For weeks! You killed innocent people AND you threatened to kill Kyrie!" Nero punched him again.  
Vergil didn't even make an attempt to dodge it or get up, which resulted in another surge of conflicting feelings in Dante.  
Why wasn't his brother defending himself? Not even verbal?

"I know", he heard Vergil say.  
Wow! This was almost an 'I'm sorry'.  
Again: What the hell was happening here?

Nero was about to hit Vergil again, when Kyrie calmly said: "Nero." The kid stopped immediately, stepped away from Vergil and returned to Kyrie's side, mumbling profanities.

"Alright", Dante cleared his throat, "before we do anything at all, could you please explain all this? I mean...I've never seen you...you know...do this", he pointed vaguely in Vergil's direction.  
"The kneeling, the not-defending-yourself...it's weird."  
Oh, wow, was he articulate today.

Vergil pushed himself up so that he was now sitting on the floor, slightly hunched. He looked miserable. His lip was split and bleeding, so was one of his eyebrows. It wasn't a big deal though. It would heal quickly but the look in Vergil's eyes, was what fazed Dante.  
Was it defeat? Surrender? Sadness? Or the fear Nelo Angelo had been talking about?  
Somehow Dante got the feeling that all of his guesses were right.  
But why?  
Why did his brother feel like that? And more importantly, how could he make him stop?  
Because it pained Dante, to see him like that. It wasn't right! Fuck his demon-side and it's pleased growl!

"Urizen killed a pregnant woman tonight. He made her husband watch and then killed him too. I didn't interfere", Vergil said, trying to sound indifferent but failing. "I couldn't."  
Kyrie and Nero both looked shocked and then Nero asked: "Why not?"

"Urizen tricked me. I made him promise not to hurt Dante's friends and in turn he tricked me into promising he could drink the blood of people Dante didn't know, as soon as the collar was removed. I am not assigning blame. It is entirely my fault. I just wanted to keep Dante's friends..." Vergil looked at Nero and Kyrie, "...you, safe and I wanted V to survive too, so I let Urizen take over at night and turned a blind eye. It was wrong to do so but it seemed like the only way. What had happened in the cellar, couldn't happen again."  
Vergil hurried to lower his head and stare at the floor, in an attempt to hide the tears that were now running down his face, but Dante had seen them.

"You know. If anyone is to blame for this mess, it's me." Dante said, sitting down beside his brother, "Remember, on your first day here? You wanted to go back to the Underworld because you were afraid to lose control and I wouldn't let you go. I told you that if you killed any humans, it would be on me. So: all those dead people; my fault.  
Urizen deceived me too, and I have to admit, I let myself be deceived. I should have noticed what you were doing but I didn't even look. Because for the first time in a long time, I felt happy, You were here with me. So, I don't want you to go back to the Underworld or live in the cellar, or run away. You hear me?" Dante pulled Vergil into a hug, breathing in the familiar scent, sighed and said in a low voice: "I missed you a lot, Vergil and I don't want to lose you again. I'm sure we can sort this blood-drinking-business out somehow. But whatever happens...please, don't leave me."  
Dante heard his brother mumble: "I' won't", as he wrapped his arms around him and then buried his face in the crook of Dante's neck.

* * *

Urizen: So, what you are saying is, that I should drink Dante's blood? That it would make me more powerful than human blood, because Dante is stronger than humans?

V: Yes. Exactly.

Urizen: Interesting.

* * *

Oh, please, let Dante's blood have some sort of positive effect on Urizen!  
Because if not, V was...as Nero would put it...fucked.

* * *

THE END

Alright.

I am so sorry for this ending. I racked my brains for weeks, trying to find a statisfying ending for this story and I just couldn't find one. Every single idea I had turned out to be illogical, totally out of character, boring as hell or otherwise stupid. So this is the ending I came up with. meh... I am not happy about it.  
If you have a better idea, feel free to write your own ending or even continue this story.  
And if you do, please send me the link to it. I'd love to read it.  
Or simply write down your thoughts in the comments.

Still, I hope you liked reading this story.  
Thank you soooo much for all the kudos and comments!  
You guys are the best!


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